Why do doctors spend so much time on notes?
After every visit, a doctor has to write a note in the patient's electronic health record. According to the authors, doctors can spend up to 2 hours documenting for every hour of direct patient care. That paperwork load is a major driver of burnout, which affects nearly half of physicians in the United States.
Ambient AI scribes promise to lighten that load. They listen to the conversation between doctor and patient, and a large language model (the same family of AI as ChatGPT) turns it into a draft note. More than 50 companies sell them, but no randomized trial had yet measured their real impact.
How was the trial set up?
At UCLA, 238 outpatient physicians from 14 specialties were randomly split into three groups: 79 with Microsoft DAX Copilot, 79 with Nabla, and 80 who kept working as usual. The trial ran from November 4, 2024, to January 3, 2025. Doctors had to get patients' verbal consent before recording, as California law requires, and only English-language visits were included.
The main outcome was the average time spent writing each note, as tracked by the health record software (Epic). The researchers also surveyed physicians on burnout, mental workload, note quality, and any errors they noticed.
Results: a small time savings and errors to watch
The scribes were not used at every visit: DAX in 33.5% of visits, Nabla in 29.5%. With Nabla, writing time per note dropped from 4 min 30 sec to 3 min 49 sec, 9.5% less than in the no-scribe group. With DAX, the difference from that group was not significant.
In surveys, users of both tools reported less burnout and mental workload, and felt better able to engage with patients. But they noted errors "occasionally," mostly omissions and pronoun mix-ups. One mild safety event was reported: counseling given to a patient was missing from the note.
Key figures
- 238physicians from 14 specialties randomized in the trial
- 9.5%less writing time per note with Nabla, compared with the group without a scribe
- 41 secsaved per note with Nabla (from 4 min 30 sec to 3 min 49 sec), vs. 18 sec in the group without a scribe
- 33.5%of visits where DAX was actually used (29.5% for Nabla)
Your visit, your note, your questions
Your doctor may already use an AI scribe. The trial shows you should be asked before the visit is recorded, and that the doctor needs to check the note, because the AI sometimes leaves out advice given during the visit.
With Mima, you keep your own record of appointments, prescriptions, and the questions you want to ask. One simple question to bring: "Can I read the notes from today's visit?"
What this means for patients
What the trial measured was doctors' workload, not patients' health. Physicians felt the tools helped them connect with patients, and patients were generally open to them. Still, on average, doctors were neutral on whether the AI notes were at least as good as their own.
If your doctor uses one of these tools, you should be asked for consent before the visit is recorded. The authors stress that doctors must review every AI-drafted note, because the AI can leave out important details.
What are the limits of this trial?
The trial took place at a single academic health system, over two months, in English only. Doctors had little time to learn the tools. The burnout results come from secondary survey measures and need confirmation in larger, multicenter trials.
The time measured does not include time spent editing the draft inside the scribe app, so the real time savings may be smaller. The trial was also registered after it started, and not every physician answered the surveys.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ambient AI scribe?
It is software that listens to the conversation between you and your doctor and automatically drafts the visit note. The doctor reviews and edits it before it goes into your medical record.
Do AI scribes save doctors time?
In this trial, Nabla cut note-writing time by 9.5%, about 41 seconds per note. DAX Copilot did not do significantly better than doctors with no scribe.
Can my doctor record my visit with AI without asking?
In this trial, doctors had to get patients' verbal consent before recording, as California law requires. You can always ask how the recording is used and say no.
Are AI scribe notes accurate?
Not always: physicians reported occasional errors, mostly omissions. The authors recommend that doctors always review the notes.
The original study
Lukac PJ, Turner W, Vangala S, et al. “Ambient AI Scribes in Clinical Practice: A Randomized Trial” NEJM AI, November 26, 2025. DOI : 10.1056/aioa2501000
Read the full study in NEJM AIThis article summarizes a scientific study and is not medical advice.