Family doctors harnessing the power of AI scribe technology to reduce burnout and enhance patient care

 

KW4 OHT, the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and health system partners awarded a $1 million Health Care Unburdened Grant to support AI scribe technology and reduce the administrative burden facing family physicians.

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 1, 2024

By: Kristen Doopan

 

KW4 OHT and the Department of Family and Community Medicine’s (DFCM) Office of Health System Partnerships, together with health system partners, have been awarded the Health Care Unburdened Grant to support the implementation and evaluation of AutoScribe, a Canadian AI scribe technology for transcribing patient-physician conversations in real time and enhancing medical record documentation.

 

Funding for this multi-partner initiative to implement AI scribe technology was made possible by the Canadian Medical Association, MD Financial Management Inc. and Scotiabank as part of the Health Care Unburdened Grant.

 

“In family medicine, the patient-physician relationship is crucial. The need to take notes on a device or look at a screen during appointments can be a barrier to meaningful connections,” says Dr. Rajesh Girdhari, a family doctor at Unity Health Toronto, St. Michael's Hospital, and Digital Health Lead in DFCM’s Office of Health System Partnerships. “Our goal is to investigate and accelerate the use of AI scribe technology in primary care to benefit family doctors, patients and the health system.”

 

Although meaningful connections are key, family physicians spend an average of 45% of their clinical hours logging data into a computer. This impacts not only the quality of physician-patient interactions but also contributes to an increase in physician burnout, career dissatisfaction and ultimately the shortage of family physicians.

 

"Appointments are no longer computer based, spent writing down (or typing) what the patient is saying to you - I get to look at my patients again using AI scribe," says Krysta Cameron, a nurse practitioner and member of the KW4 Primary Care Network. "I have been able to decrease my appointments by 10 minutes and see more patients in a day because I don't need the extra time to chart. The solution does lots for the relationship with the patient and provider. I feel less stressed and more relaxed, while focusing more on my patients using this technology.

 

This two-year initiative is led by DFCM’s Office of Health System Partnerships in collaboration with East Toronto Health Partners, East Toronto Family Practice Network, North York Toronto Health Partners, North York Toronto Primary Care Network, Scarborough Ontario Health Team, Scarborough Family Physicians Network, KW4 Ontario Health Team, eHealth Centre of Excellence and Mutuo Health Solutions.

 

While there is huge interest in AI scribes among family physicians, there has been limited uptake because of system variation, privacy concerns, compatibility issues and lack of change management support. This multi-partner initiative hopes to change that by not just building the tool but also helping to adapt and implement it across a wide variety of practice models and sizes.

 

In the coming months, the project team will be recruiting family physicians in Ontario to help explore and accelerate the adoption of AI scribe technology across health care settings to benefit physicians, patients and the Ontario health system.

 

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), MD Financial Management Inc. (MD) and Scotiabank together are firmly committed to supporting the medical profession and advancing health in Canada. As proof of this commitment, Scotiabank, in collaboration with the CMA and MD, is investing $115 million to support physicians and the communities they serve across Canada.