Enhancing Clinical Documentation Workflow with Ambient Artificial Intelligence: Clinician Perspectives on Work Burden, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction

Objective: This study assessed the effects of an ambient artificial intelligence (AI) documentation platform on clinicians' perceptions of documentation workflow. Materials and Methods: A pre- and post-implementation survey evaluated ambulatory clinician perceptions on impact of Abridge, an ambient AI documentation platform. Outcomes included clinical documentation burden, work after-hours, clinician burnout, work satisfaction, and patient access. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and proportional odds logistic regression to compare changes for concordant questions across pre- and post-surveys. Covariate analysis examined effect of specialty type and duration of use of the AI tool. Results: Survey response rates were 51.1% (94/181) pre-implementation and 75.9% (101/133) post-implementation. Clinician perception of ease of documentation workflow (OR = 6.91, 95% CI: 3.90 to 12.56, p<0.001) and in completing notes associated with usage of the AI tool (OR = 4.95, 95% CI: 2.87 to 8.69, p<0.001) was significantly improved. The majority of respondents agreed that the AI tool decreased documentation burden, decreased the time spent documenting outside clinical hours, reduced burnout risk, and increased job satisfaction, with 48% agreeing that an additional patient could be seen if needed. Clinician specialty type and number of days using the AI tool did not significantly affect survey responses. Discussion: Clinician experience and efficiency was dramatically improved with use of Abridge across a breadth of specialties.