(001) Ambient AI Scribes in Otolaryngology: Reducing Documentation Burden, Cognitive Load, And Burnout

Introduction: Otolaryngologists spend 2.3 - 4.3 hours (h) in the electronic health record (EHR) and 1-2 h writing notes in a full day of clinic. Ambient AI scribes have shown promise to reduce documentation burden, and work outside of work hours (WOWH), but its effect on documentation burden among otolaryngologists has not been studied.

Methods: In August of 2025, otolaryngology providers started using ambient AI scribes at an academic tertiary medical center. Prospectively, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Nasa Task Load (NTLx) surveys were obtained before ambient AI use and repeated 4 months later. Provider efficiency data including time in notes per day, WOWH, and other metrics were tracked monthly.

Results: Eighteen otolaryngologists and 3 Advance Practice Providers (APPs) participated. With ambient AI scribes, time in notes per appointment reduced by 19% or 1.4 minutes (min) (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5, 2.3; p< 0.003), saving nearly 2.7 h per month in note writing. Time after clinic hours reduced 23% or 0.25 h/day (95% CI 0.05, 0.44; p< 0.02), among frequent users ambient AI scribes. Ambient AI scribes reduced NTLx along domains of effort, frustration, mental, and time and MBI along domains of depersonalization and personal accomplishment (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Ambient AI scribes greatly reduced the cognitive load of note writing and burnout. They also reduced the time to complete documentation and WOWH. This demonstrates the positive impact of ambient AI scribes on otolaryngology providers’ outpatient workload. Future research is needed to further characterize which types of clinicians, tasks, and visit types ambient AI scribes would most benefit.