GPs’ AI scribe use doubles in one year: Poll

The number of GPs using AI scribes has doubled in little over a year – a trend bringing with it both benefits and challenges for the future of general practices, doctors, and patient care.
 
That is according to fresh newsGP data, which found that in August 2024, just 22% of poll respondents were currently using AI scribes in their general practice.
 
However, by November 2025, that percentage almost doubled to 40%.
 
According to the RACGP’s guidance on AI scribes, their use is expected to ‘grow considerably as the technology continues to evolve’.
 
It says that, ideally, AI scribes of the future will be able to populate structured data entry fields, provide multilingual transcriptions, capture interactions with patients with disabilities, and assist with creating personalised treatment plans for both clinicians and patients.
 
It is a future which could alleviate much of the admin burden for already time-poor GPs often hamstrung by red tape.
 
RACGP Expert Committee – Practice and Technology Management Chair Dr Rob Hosking says he expects the scribes’ rapid uptake to continue but warns this brings with it both pros and cons for GPs and healthcare.
 
‘Most people have said that the benefit is that they don’t have to spend ages typing their notes themselves and that they can focus more on the consultation with the patient rather than continually turning to the keyboard,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘But then the disadvantage is, it does take time – you must check every time because they do make errors.
 
‘When we’re in a hurry, the temptation is to just hit import or copy and paste into your notes depending on what system you are using, but they certainly do make mistakes, and you have to check.
 
‘The disadvantage is when you start to lose the skills … and because the notes are so much more detailed, they take longer to look at when you go back and look and review.’
 
According to research from Avant, AI scribes’ use among its members grew from 11% in August 2024 to 19% in February 2025, and ‘overall feedback from early adopters has been positive’.
 
Moreover, a recently released study found that after a month of AI scribe use, self-reports of administrative burden among 186 clinicians decreased from 52% to 39%.
 
‘The AI scribe was associated with reduced burnout and less time spent documenting after hours,’ it found.
 
‘Clinicians also noted that they felt better able to give their undivided attention to patients, with increased capacity to add additional appointments as needed.’
 
According to Saeed Akhlaghpou, an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Queensland, momentum is building around AI scribes, with many doctors, especially GPs, actively exploring the tools.
 
But he says it is critical that ‘patients are not left in the dark’.
 
‘While AI scribes offer real promise, they also introduce new layers of legal, ethical and clinical complexity,’ Associate Professor Akhlaghpou said.
 
‘Without proper oversight, training, and transparency, the risks could outweigh the benefits.’
 
According to newsGP data, when GPs were asked how patients react when asked their consent to use an AI scribe in a consult, 88% said most patients are happy for them to use it.
 
But Dr Hosking believes it remains important that junior doctors learn how to ‘formulate their thinking and take notes accordingly’, despite the availability of AI scribes.
 
‘Once they’ve established their ability to formulate clinical thinking, then they can start to use the tools that help do some of the clinical organising for them,’ he said.
 
‘Also, because you didn’t write those notes, they’re not immediately obvious in your memory.’
 
The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s current regulative approach is that AI scribes that only ‘transcribe and translate clinical conversations into written records without performing analysis or interpretation’ are not considered medical devices.
 
However, if a scribe analyses or interprets clinical conversations, such as by generating a diagnosis or treatment recommendation not explicitly stated by the healthcare practitioner, it becomes a medical device.
 
Dr Hosking says there is a lot that could change in the future of AI scribes, and a lot left to consider.
 
‘There’s great potential but like everything that’s got great potential, as the internet and social media has shown, there is good and bad with all new developments,’ he said.
 
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