How Artificial Intelligence Could Change the Doctor–Patient Relationship

In the artificial intelligence debate, most of the attention has focused on tomorrow’s prospects. In healthcare, however, its effect can already be seen in very different, down-to-earth ways. AI is beginning to redefine the daily reality of doctors and patients—not by operating or making diagnoses on its own, but by addressing the more subtle, less noticeable strains that for years have taken their toll on the system.

Among the largest of these forces is that of paperwork. By and large, surveys again verify that doctors spend close to twice as much time with notes and paperwork as with their own patients. For many, it is becoming a source of growing irritation. Administrative burden makes consultations feel rushed and produces record levels of burnout among medics.

This is where a new generation of technology is stepping in. Among the companies leading this charge is ScribeAI, a startup co-founded by Kyle Robertson and Matt Holmes. Their product is designed to listen to doctor–patient conversations and convert them into structured clinical notes, ICD and CPT billing codes, and follow-up summaries. The aim is not to replace doctors, but to remove the routine tasks that prevent them from spending more time face to face with patients.

Kyle Robertson, already having kickstarted telemedicine firms Cerebral and Zealthy, headed in a different direction with his incubator, Revolution Venture Studios, to the administrative side of healthcare. It doesn’t capture center stage like new treatments for cancer or robotic surgery, but it is something that overlaps with almost every interaction in the system. Early returns indicate that it can do just that. Physicians who deploy ScribeAI say they save hours a week—time that they’re investing in listening to their patient and providing better-thought-through care. Sources also confirm that the company has established an eight-figure pipeline, a sign that health systems and clinics recognize the potential value as well.

All that is part of a larger trend. In all of medicine, AI is being tested increasingly as a complement to, not a substitute for, professionals. In all these cases, the technology enhances, not replaces, clinical reasoning. Of course, the healthcare system has heard it all before. Electronic medical records promised to bring modernity to healthcare, but in reality, they brought added irritation and, on occasion, made complex something that was once straightforward. And that’s partially why many are wary of praise for artificial intelligence.

What’s distinctive about the tools of today is that they aim for extremely narrow, nuts-and-bolts issues. By taking on documentation, scheduling, or imaging, for example, instead of trying to revolutionize the entire system, they might be more likely to be brought into play.

The real question is still whether these technologies can improve outcomes as well as save time. But for now, physicians who are using products like Kyle Robertson’s ScribeAI speak of something that is all too rare in medical technology: programs that genuinely streamline their day-to-day world. And in a service that is constantly short-handed, even that is a quiet revolution

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