Inspired by OntarioMD: Build an AI Scribe Solution to Reduce Physician Burnout

Did you hear what OntarioMD did with AI scribes? 

It's seriously changing the game for family doctors. We all know paperwork is draining the life out of healthcare. 

In fact, did you know Ontario family doctors spend up to 19 hours a week just doing admin tasks? 

That’s nearly half their time—gone to forms, notes, and documentation. 

No wonder burnout is hitting record highs. According to the Canadian Medical Association, over half of doctors feel burned out—and it’s only getting worse.

But here’s the good news: OntarioMD decided to do something about it. 

They teamed up with eHealth Centre of Excellence and a few other healthcare orgs to try something bold— Medical AI scribes. 

Basically, it’s tech that listens during your patient visit (with their okay), and automatically writes the clinical notes for you.

Over 150 providers tested it. And guess what? It worked. 

They got back hours of their week and could actually spend more time with their patients.

Now here’s the exciting part: you can build the same solution for your clinic or organization too. 

The Problem: Burnout + Paperwork = A Healthcare Crisis

Let’s talk about the real issue here: physician burnout is out of control in Canada.

According to a national CMA survey, 53% of doctors and residents were burned out in 2021. That’s a huge jump from 31% just a few years earlier. And guess who’s getting hit the hardest? 

Family doctors. More than half—57%—are reporting burnout. It’s even worse for those in early and mid-career stages.

Why is this happening?

One big reason: paperwork.
Doctors are spending way too much time on admin tasks instead of seeing patients.

In Ontario, family physicians are losing up to 19 hours per week to administrative work. That’s 40% of their working hours—gone to chasing forms, writing notes, and wrestling with EMRs.

Just documentation alone takes about 4 hours a week. That’s time spent filling out third-party forms (like insurance or disability), writing sick notes (even when you can't verify if someone’s truly sick), or managing referrals and follow-ups.

And it's not just annoying—it’s draining.

This kind of cognitive overload doesn’t just stay at the clinic. It follows the doctor's home. Many end up finishing notes late at night—what some call “pajama time.” Over time, that eats away at any work-life balance.

Here’s a shocking stat:

All the unnecessary paperwork across Canada adds up to 18.5 million hours a year. That’s time that could’ve been used for 55.6 million patient visits.

Thankfully, things are starting to shift.

Programs like Patients Before Paperwork (Pb4P) from OntarioMD, OMA, and Ontario Health are trying to fix this. They’re helping reduce unnecessary admin work, tweak sick note policies, and push for digital tools.

One of those tools is AI scribe tech—which we’ll talk about next.

The Promise: What OntarioMD’s AI Scribe Pilot Proved

So, what happened when OntarioMD actually put Helathcare AI scribes to the test?

They launched a real-world pilot with over 150 family doctors and nurse practitioners, right here in Ontario. Over three months, they studied whether AI scribes could actually reduce paperwork—and the results were very promising.

Let’s break it down:

• Big time savings: In some settings, doctors spent up to 90% less time on paperwork. During live patient visits, there was a 69.5% reduction in documentation time.
  
• 3 to 4 hours saved per week: That’s like getting back half a day—every week. On average, doctors saved 3.5 minutes per patient, which adds up to almost 2 hours per day.
  
• Less stress, more satisfaction:
  • 55% of doctors said they felt less stress and burnout
  • 58% felt more fulfilled in their work
  • Over 75% said it reduced their cognitive load during visits
  • More than half said their work-life balance improved
    
• More time with patients:
  79% of participants said they spent more time on actual patient care—not just clicking and typing.
  Doctors reported feeling more “present” in the room and making better eye contact with patients.
  
• Strong support for AI scribes:
  83% said they’d keep using it, and 82% said they’d recommend it to others.

And the Ontario government sees the potential too. They estimate that tools like this, combined with other paperwork reduction efforts, could free up 95,000 hours each year—just in Ontario.

Leaders behind the project summed it up perfectly.

“AI scribes give doctors back their time, and help them get back to the joy of practicing medicine.”
— Robert Fox, CEO, OntarioMD

“This is a big step toward a future where digital tools actually help clinicians—rather than overwhelm them.”
— Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, Family Physician & CEO, eHealth Centre of Excellence

Bottom line? This isn’t some theory or hype. AI scribes are already working for Ontario’s doctors. And if they can do it—you can too.

What is the Technology Behind AI Scribes? 

Let’s talk tech—without the tech jargon overload.

AI scribes aren’t magic. But they do feel magical when they’re working well. Behind the scenes, they use smart technologies to listen, understand, and write notes automatically—so clinicians don’t have to.

Here’s how it works, step by step:

• Speech-to-Text (Voice to Words):
  First, the AI listens to the conversation between the doctor and the patient. It turns that spoken dialogue into text—kind of like real-time subtitles. Good audio = better accuracy.
  
• NLP (Understanding Medical Language):
  Next, Natural Language Processing (NLP) steps in. It reads the transcript and understands what’s clinically important. It picks out medical terms, symptoms, and context.
  
• Generative AI (Writing Clean, Structured Notes):
  Then comes the smart part. The AI writes clear, organized notes—often in formats like SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan). Some advanced systems can even fill out EMR fields or generate referral letters.

And the best part?

Modern AI scribes don’t need you to talk directly to them. They work in the background during real patient visits. This is called ambient listening. 

It means no interruptions, no stopping to dictate—just natural conversation while the AI listens quietly and builds the note.

Must-Have Features in Your Medical AI Scribe Tool

1. Accurate Voice Recognition Built for Healthcare:

The tool should clearly capture what’s said during a patient visit—even with different accents or multiple speakers. It also needs to understand medical terms, not confuse “meds” with “beds.”

2. Smart Summarization:

AI should take that conversation and turn it into a clean, structured note—like a SOAP note. This is where generative AI and machine learning step in.

3. Easy Integration with EMRs:

Your healthcare AI scribe should play nice with your EMR system. If you're still copying and pasting notes, the whole point is lost. Seamless sync is key.

4. Custom Templates:

The AI scribe should let you customize note formats based on your specialty, visit type, or even language.

5. Real-Time Note Generation:

Notes should be ready right after the visit—or even during it. The faster, the better. That way, nothing gets missed.

6. Easy Editing:

The interface should make it easy to spot issues, fix errors, and make edits quickly.

7. Workflow Automation:

Great AI scribes don’t stop at note-taking. They can help generate referral letters, patient instructions, and even trigger follow-up actions automatically.

8. Support for Bilingual (English/French) Needs:

Your tool should support both English and French—because our healthcare system does.

9. Privacy & Security Compliance:

Your AI scribe must meet PHIPA and PIPEDA standards. It should store data securely, in Canada, and help with getting proper patient consent.

What You’ll Need to Watch Out For When Building an AI Scribe Solution

Building an AI medical scribe sounds exciting—and it truly is. But bringing it to life, especially for Canadian healthcare, comes with real challenges.

Let’s break them down.

1. Accuracy Isn’t Optional

Even the best AI can make mistakes. It might miss important details or invent information (what’s known as AI “hallucination”). Accents, noise, and multiple speakers can throw it off. 

That’s why doctors must review and edit every AI-generated note. Your tool needs a clean, fast, and easy-to-use editor for this.

2. EMR Integration is Tough—but Crucial

Canadian clinics use many different EMR systems. Integrating with all of them isn’t easy.

But without smooth integration, doctors are stuck copying and pasting notes manually—which defeats the purpose of AI automation. 

3. Privacy Laws Are Strict

Canada has strong privacy rules—PHIPA in Ontario and PIPEDA federally. Your solution must meet these, no exceptions. That means:

• Informed consent: Patients need to know what’s recorded and how it’s used.
  
• Data protection: Use encryption and access controls.
  
• Data residency: All health data must stay in Canada.
  
• Clear policies: Explain how long you store data and how it’s used (e.g., not for hidden AI training unless consented).

4. Clinician Adoption Isn’t Automatic

Tech alone won’t fix burnout. Doctors need to want to use it. That means:

• Make the tool fit their workflow.
  
• Offer simple customization.
  
• Provide training and ongoing support. If they see the value, they’ll adopt it faster.

5. ROI Might Be Hard to Prove

Yes, AI scribes save time. But do they increase the number of patients seen? Not always. The biggest value? 

Reducing stress, saving energy, and making clinical work a little less tiring. That’s what really matters. In some cases, better documentation may improve billing—but results vary.

How We Help You Build an Medical AI Scribe That Works in Canadian Healthcare

Building an AI scribe sounds exciting—but doing it right in Canada? That’s where things get tricky. From privacy laws to French support to making sure it actually saves doctors time, there’s a lot to think about. But don’t worry—we’ve got you.

Here’s how SyS Creations helps you build an AI scribe that’s practical, compliant, and truly helpful for Canadian clinicians:

• We start by understanding your users. We talk directly to Canadian doctors and nurse practitioners to learn what really slows them down. Then, we design around those pain points.
  
• We build privacy from day one. We follow PHIPA, PIPEDA, and ensure all patient data stays in Canada—no shortcuts. Your solution will have strong encryption, strict access rules, and clear data retention policies.
  
• We make accuracy a priority. AI is powerful, but it’s not perfect. We help you reduce hallucinations, avoid missing key info, and give clinicians easy tools to edit and approve every note.
  
• We handle EMR integration smartly. Whether it's OSCAR, TELUS PS Suite, or Accuro—we build your scribe with open standards so it talks to the EMR smoothly. No copy-paste nightmares.
  
• We support both English and French. Your app will understand and transcribe both languages. This is critical for trust, access, and compliance across Canada.
  
• We design for real use. The UI will be clean and easy. We also provide training and support so that clinicians actually use it—and love it.
  
• We pilot before scaling. We test the solution with real users, in real clinics, so you get feedback on what’s working and what needs refining. This avoids surprises later on.

Want to build an AI scribe that truly helps Canadian doctors? Let’s do it right—from the ground up.

Ready to get started? Contact SyS Creations today to discuss how we can build a tailor-made AI scribe solution for your needs. We’ll guide you through the whole process, from concept to deployment, and ensure it fits seamlessly into the Canadian healthcare system. Get in touch now for a free consultation or a live demo!