VA's Ambient AI Scribe Lets Clinicians Focus on Patients Again
At select Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers, appointments feel different. Providers are making eye contact instead of wrestling with their keyboards.
The shift comes from an ambient AI scribe the VA launched in October. It listens (with permission) and auto-generates a clinical note, turning post-visit typing into a background task.
Why This Matters to Clinicians
Documentation has been crowding out care. Many clinicians spend close to half the day on notes and admin work, then finish at night.
Early use shows the opposite experience. "Veterans said they felt more connected to their provider because they were having a real conversation, not talking to someone typing on a computer," said Donna Hill, director of operations for AI and emerging technologies at the VA's Digital Health Office.
One veteran put it simply: "My provider would look me in the eye and have an actual conversation." Providers report getting hours back while improving the quality of interaction.
How It Works
- Consent first: the provider asks the veteran if they want to use the scribe.
- Ambient recording: a device captures the visit audio quietly in the room.
- Real-time processing: AI transcribes, extracts symptoms, diagnoses, meds, and plans.
- Clinical control: it drafts a note; the provider reviews, edits, and signs before it enters the record.
- Veteran control: they can decline or stop recording at any time.
The system doesn't make medical decisions. It handles the clerical part of documentation so clinicians can practice medicine.
What Veterans and Providers Are Saying
Over six months, the VA piloted the scribe across more than 800,000 veteran visits. Feedback from both sides was largely positive.
In a survey of 75 veterans, 71% reported no concerns using the tool. Those with reservations mostly cited privacy, which the VA addressed with clear guardrails and standard medical privacy protections.
Accuracy is a safety factor, too. "Having an accurate record [factors] into making this the safest experience possible," one provider told the VA.
Privacy, Security, and Control
Recordings are encrypted, stored within VA systems, and handled under the same protections that apply to VA medical records. They are not shared with third parties or used to train commercial AI models.
- Consent-based use every visit
- Stop anytime on request
- Provider review and approval before anything is final
For more on VA privacy practices, visit VA Privacy.
Practical Tips for Healthcare Teams
- Embed consent into rooming or intake so it's consistent and quick.
- Set clear cues for pausing the scribe during sensitive parts of the visit.
- Standardize note templates and review checklists to speed sign-off.
- Monitor quality: sample notes weekly for accuracy, attribution, and clinical completeness.
- Track impact: documentation time per visit, after-hours charting, patient satisfaction, and revision rates.
- Coach providers on speaking structure (problem, assessment, plan) to improve note clarity.
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What's Next
The VA plans to roll out ambient AI scribe to all VA medical centers through 2026. Veterans won't need to do anything; providers will offer it as an option during the visit.
Curious if it's available at your facility? Ask at your next appointment. If not yet, odds are it's coming in 2026.
For Veterans in Crisis
The Veterans Crisis Line is available 24/7. Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net.
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