As we integrate ambient listening AI into clinical workflows, our goal is always to reduce the clinician documentation burden while upholding the highest standards of data integrity and patient privacy. Of course, this potential is exciting, but the journey has been far from simple. Here are a few of the key challenges we’ve encountered and how we’re addressing them.

1. More than just words: Accuracy meets clinical reality

At the heart of any ambient listening tool is its ability to not just transcribe but to understand the information. Transcription accuracy alone isn’t enough. The real challenge lies in producing a clinical note that’s medically sound, contextually appropriate and, maybe most important, actionable. How we’re looking at this:

• Capturing the conversation: A strong voice recognition feature must handle accents, varied speech patterns and the vast language of medical terminology.
• Translating into notes: Prompting strategies must align with various clinical documentation styles, whether it’s a full standard note, SOAP-style progress note (Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan), discharge summaries, referral letters or visit notes, all while adapting to specialty-specific needs.

At the heart of any ambient listening tool is its ability to not just transcribe but to understand the information

2. Context is key: Seamless EHR integration

Even the most accurate AI scribe can leave a lot to be desired unless it’s grounded in the right patient context. Most third-party AI scribes require extra steps like manually assigning notes to patients, which creates more work. Here’s what we prioritize:

• Real-time patient awareness: Tight integration ensures the AI scribe captures and stores notes within the correct patient visit.
• In-flow design: Embedding the scribe directly into the provider’s view keeps all relevant data and tools in one place.
• Mobile flexibility: With mobile options, providers can record visits on-the-go and immediately access the AI-generated transcript and any other information they need.

3. Keeping safe: Navigating privacy, security and compliance

Healthcare data is sensitive. And staying committed to keeping is safe is a priority. Building an AI scribe that handles Protected Health Information (PHI) means securing and maintaining compliance with HIPAA. This isn’t optional. It is truly foundational. Key considerations include:

• Data stays secure: By building our own AI scribe, all transcripts and interpretations live within the client’s environment, not in a vendor’s cloud.
• Clear accountability: Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with vendors define exactly how data is handled, trained on and de-identified.

Security isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a human one. Building trust with clinicians and patients is just as important as securing the infrastructure.

4. Earning physicians’ trust and driving adoption

The success of an AI scribe hinges on its acceptance and use by the healthcare professionals it’s designed to assist. Here’s what makes the difference:

• Show, don’t tell: Demonstrating measurable accuracy and value, like time-saved and improved documentation quality, can help break down skepticism.
• Clinician co-design: Involving providers in development ensures we build tools that reflect real-world workflows and clinical needs.
• Oversight matters: AI is a support tool—not a replacement. Providing both the transcript and AI-generated notes enables oversight, accuracy and continued clinician judgement.

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Progress with purpose

Developing an ambient listening AI scribe has been a complex, ongoing journey. These aren’t just technical hurdles; they reflect the human, ethical and clinical dimensions of healthcare innovation. By prioritizing integration, accuracy, security and clinician trust, we believe AI can transform clinical documentation, not be replacing the human element, but by supporting it, by reducing administrative burden and empowering healthcare providers to focus on what matters most: patient care. Read more here about Altera’s AI initiatives, along with key updates about Sunrise’s newest features.