When physicians aren’t tied to their keyboards during patient visits, the experience transforms — eye contact lasts longer, conversations deepen, and clinicians end the day less exhausted.
That’s the advantage of ambient clinical documentation — an AI-powered tool that listens to clinician–patient interactions and generates accurate note drafts for review before being added to the electronic health record (EHR).
Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine explored this technology in two new JAMA Network Open studies, which found that AI scribes reduce burnout, ease cognitive load, and significantly cut documentation time.
“Healthcare is at a turning point with the rise of generative AI,” said Sachin Shah, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at UChicago Medicine. “Clinicians must help guide how these tools are implemented so they truly enhance both patient care and professional well-being.”
Productivity and wellness
The first study surveyed more than 250 physicians and advanced practice providers across six health systems piloting ambient AI. Results showed a notable drop in self-reported clinician burnout — from about 52% to 39% — along with reduced cognitive strain, less after-hours charting, and improved presence during patient visits.
According to Neda Laiteerapong, MD, MS, Associate Director of the Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy and one of over 800 UChicago Medicine clinicians using ambient AI, the findings align with daily experience.
“Clinicians can feel the difference when their cognitive load is lighter,” she said. “We’re more focused, less drained, and have more energy and empathy to enhance patient care — even through small improvements, like ordering lab tests earlier in the process.”
Cumulative time savings
The second study analyzed data from UChicago Medicine’s ambient clinical documentation pilot, examining how the technology impacted clinicians’ interaction time with electronic health records (EHRs). To minimize bias from early adopters and other variables, researchers compared ambient AI scribe users with a closely matched group of non-users based on specialty, clinic volume, and baseline EHR activity.
Results showed that clinicians using ambient AI spent 8.5% less total time in the EHR compared to their peers, including a 15% reduction in note-taking time.
“An 8.5% decrease may seem modest, but it adds up,” said Kevin Pearlman, MD, who served as a clinical informatics fellow at UChicago Medicine during the study. “If a clinician sees 20 patients daily and saves just a few minutes per visit, that can translate to several hours reclaimed each week — time that can be redirected toward deeper patient engagement, data-driven decision-making, or other critical care tasks.”
Why evaluate a tool that appears inherently beneficial?
While the advantages of ambient clinical documentation may seem obvious, experts emphasize the importance of validating its impact through research. Careful evaluation distinguishes the tool’s true effects from broader system changes, identifies which specialties and clinicians gain the most, and ensures that efficiency improvements translate into better care and clinician well-being.
“Implementing new technology in a healthcare system requires investment, so it’s essential to confirm it truly benefits both patients and providers,” said Laiteerapong. “As an academic medical center, rigorous evaluation is part of our responsibility — ensuring our time, effort, and resources deliver meaningful outcomes.”
Next Steps: Understanding the Patient Experience
As UChicago Medicine prepares to broaden access to ambient clinical documentation tools, researchers plan to shift focus toward understanding the patient perspective.
Preliminary internal surveys indicate steady improvements in patient experience scores among clinicians using ambient AI. The next phase will combine large-scale, long-term survey data with qualitative interviews from both patients and clinicians to better understand how these tools affect the tone of conversations, the sense of personal connection, and how clinicians use their reclaimed time and attention.
“Our clinicians are deeply dedicated to our patients’ well-being,” said Shah. “We hope these technologies help us strengthen that connection. It’s about using AI not to replace the human touch, but to enhance it—freeing us to focus more fully on patient care.”
