AI Scribe for Health Practitioners: a Guide to Getting Started
‘Are you using AI?’
It’s an increasingly common question in most industries, health and wellness included. New AI tools promise to lighten your admin load, help with documentation, or give your schedule a little breathing room. And hey, who wouldn’t want a few more hours in their day?
But with every new technology comes the natural next step: questions. Will this actually help? Is it really secure? What does it mean for my patients and clients? You’re not alone in wondering.
Meet Sean: one physiotherapist’s turning point with AI
Sean Overin, a physiotherapist from British Columbia, is one practitioner who found integrating AI tools incredibly worth it. “I was initially skeptical,” he says. “Eleven years in, I had a pretty solid system. But charting was still a daily drain, cutting into unpaid time I could’ve spent delivering care, mentoring, or actually recovering from a full caseload.”
After trying AI scribe tooling, he had a big realization. “I’d finished my day with all my notes done. [I was] driving home with energy, fully off the clock. That was when I knew the scribe was here to stay.”
What exactly is an AI scribe?
AI scribes are designed to help you take notes more efficiently, not to replace your clinical expertise. They capture conversations and turn them into text that can be used to summarize patient appointments and quickly create documentation.
Why practitioners are turning to AI scribes
The experience Sean describes, driving home with notes completed (and feeling fully off-the-clock), has been echoed by other practitioners. Time savings, reduced burnout, and improved patient-practitioner relationships are common benefits of these tools. “I was doing 4 to 5 initial assessments a week, sometimes more, and the math added up quickly,” he says. “Saving even 15 minutes per assessment made a big difference. But more than the time savings, I saw the potential to reduce end-of-day cognitive fatigue, and that felt huge.”
And for many, that sense of relief also shows up in the moment-to-moment experience of care. Practitioners say one of the biggest gifts of using AI scribes is feeling more present in the room. If you’ve ever had to pause mid-conversation to jot something down, you know how that small moment can pull you out of sync. An AI scribe can help keep your full attention on your patient, removing one step from your to-do list.
The top questions on your mind, answered
Patient experience is often one of the biggest considerations in deciding whether a new process or tool is the right fit. When it comes to AI, “most people worry about what to say to clients, how to handle consent, data security, and whether the output [of an AI scribe] will be accurate,” says Sean.
These are all completely valid concerns. At the heart of every patient experience is trust and safety, so if a tool doesn’t meet the required criteria, it’s a dealbreaker. Here are a few questions we’ve been hearing from other practitioners:
Will AI make healthcare feel less personal?
In Sean’s experience, he’s seen a receptiveness with AI features, “Clients have been surprisingly open, especially when you're transparent,” he says. “Some even comment on how progressive it feels [using AI] and appreciate the extra focus and energy in the session.” When used thoughtfully, AI can actually strengthen the connection between you and your patients. By letting AI take care of some of the time-consuming admin work, you get to spend more of your energy where it matters most.
Do I need to be an expert in AI to use an AI scribe?
Not at all. Like with anything new, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but AI tools are built to be user-friendly. One of the best ways to get started is by learning how to write a clear prompt. Think of a prompt as your instructions to AI, the clearer they are, the better the results. And don’t be afraid to play around. Try small changes to see what works, and jot down notes on what you notice. Patterns will start to show up, and from there, you can adjust your prompts to get even better results.
Where do recordings live?
Questions about session recordings are quite common, and rightfully so. It’s very important that recordings are stored securely to ensure patient privacy is maintained. At Jane, session recordings and transcripts are easily accessible from each patient’s individual chart, but not included in their medical record. You’re able to review, playback, or when you’re done, delete the recording altogether. Managing your settings so recordings auto-delete is also possible. This is the process at Jane, but it’s important to do your due diligence with your regulatory body with each tool you use.
How do I know if an AI scribe is secure to use?
Using an AI scribe built specifically for healthcare practitioners means it’s more likely to have been built with the policies and protections you’re looking for as a practitioner. Choose a compliant tool based on your jurisdiction and the legislation and regulatory requirements that apply to you. For example, depending on your location, ensure the tool is HIPAA, PIPEDA, or GDPR compliant.
Using AI responsibly: ethics and compliance 101
AI is still fairly new, and moving fast, which means the rules around compliance are evolving, too. While every region has its own guidelines, most healthcare regulators are focusing on a few key areas.
If you’re exploring an AI feature, it can be helpful to understand some examples of what’s top of mind for regulators right now. These principles can also guide your own approach and help you spot where you might want to ask a few more questions or look a little closer.
Here are some general best practices:
Patients should always give consent and have total transparency. They should know when their data is being collected, how it’s being used, disclosed to, and by whom. Also, it’s key they’re aware they have the option to decline (even if they’ve accepted AI use in an earlier appointment, for example). Many clinics are obtaining consent through updated language in their intake forms, but practitioners should also be sure to get verbal consent before appointments begin.
Only gather the most important data that’s required to deliver care. Nothing extra, nothing unrelated. A great example of this would be only beginning recordings once the clinical part of a session is underway, rewording or removing sensitive information that doesn’t need to be part of the file, and deleting recordings once you’re finished with them.
Review and edit each note before you sign it. While AI is a robust tool, it’s not perfect. All notes should have a human review before sign off.
Continue to use your clinical judgement, not relying on AI suggestions. Nothing can replace your deep knowledge and subject matter expertise.
Is it right for you? A quick self check-in
Getting started: a beginner-friendly game plan
- Check in with your regulatory body about AI principles and practice expectations.
- Run test assessments before trying the feature with a patient. Set aside some time to play around with the tool, because learning through experience is one of the best ways to build confidence.
- Try experimenting with your environment. Things like background noise or mic placement can sometimes affect how AI responds. Occasionally, it might get things wrong (these are called ‘hallucinations’), and that can be influenced by all sorts of factors, not just technical ones.
- Add consent language to your intake forms. You’ll want to be sure your patients are well informed that you’re using AI in a clinical setting and have approved of its use. As an example, here’s some sample language: "With your consent, I’ll be using an AI-powered note-taking assistant during our session. It helps me focus more on our conversation by drafting notes in real time. I’ll review everything before anything is saved, and you can ask me to stop using it at any time. Do you consent to me using an AI-powered note?"
- Speak face-to-face with patients before you use AI in an appointment. Explaining in person why and how AI will be used is super valuable for the patient and helps them understand its impact on their care. It’s important that patients know that they can withdraw their consent at any time, as this is their right under HIPAA, PIPEDA, and the GDPR.
- Once you’re getting the hang of things, use your AI scribe tool in sessions with well-known and trusted patients. Explain the process and bring them along on the journey. A peek behind the curtain builds trust!
How practitioners are reclaiming their time
For Sean, using AI has allowed him to invest his energy into things that give him energy right back. “I’ve been able to lean into the parts of my work I really enjoy like building patient education tools, developing courses, reading research, connecting with others in the profession and spending more time getting involved in my professional association.”
Final thoughts: small steps, big shifts
Sean’s advice:
Don’t wait for perfect – just start small, stay curious, and let it evolve. It’s about reclaiming the energy you’ve been pouring into admin, and reinvesting it in your clinical brain, your patients, and your life.
You may have guessed it, Sean is using Jane’s AI Scribe. If you haven’t met Jane, we’re an EMR that helps you book, chart, and get paid online. We’re also the company responsible for this here article. 😀
Sean Overin is a physiotherapist from Vancouver, BC. As Director of Learning at Tall Tree Health, he’s always curious about the latest in research and innovations.
If you’re interested, here’s more on Jane’s AI Scribe:
✨ AI Scribe: Working with Recordings
📓 Chart Template Library in Jane
🎥 Watch our webinar How AI Scribe is Changing the Way Clinics Chart to see a demo of Jane’s AI Scribe, hear from a practitioner who’s using it, and learn how it can help with charting while staying compliant.
📚Want to learn more about AI? Sign up for our Understanding AI in health and wellness webinar.
If you're curious about how others are putting AI to work in their practices, here are some resources our partners have shared with us:
