AI Apps Now Record Doctor Visits and Deliver Summaries to Patients
More than a quarter of U.S. practices already use ambient scribes for clinicians. New consumer apps now offer the same service to patients.
thenewstack.ioU.S. practices now use AI-based listening tools called ambient scribes. The tools capture visits in real time and draft clinical notes for clinicians to enter into patients’ medical records.
Ambient scribes were the first large-scale application of AI in health care. A growing number of consumer apps are using AI to transcribe and interpret audio files from doctor visits. The apps deliver summaries and action items for patients after the fact.
Apps named VisitRecall, Advoca Health, and AlignCare are among those offering the service. Kin Health announced a $9 million seed round in May. The company has backing from the co-founder of GoodRx. Developers are pitching the patient apps as diligent note-takers to keep track of encounters across the health system.
Patients are getting used to being recorded in the doctor’s office. Nearly every patient now has a recording device in their pocket. Commercial large language models have made it easier than ever for them to transcribe and interpret audio files.
Katie Palmer is a Health Tech Correspondent at STAT. The article was published on June 4, 2026.
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