Paul J. Barr, Ph.D., Robert Gramling, M.D., D.Sc., and Soroush Vosoughi, Ph.D.
Ambient clinical visit recording will soon power emerging artificial intelligence–enabled technologies to support patients, clinicians, and health systems. To realize the potential of such routine encounter recording, we must prevent and ameliorate unintended yet foreseeable harms. We focus on three areas of concern and offer strategies to mitigate them: burden to clinician–patient relationships, fairness in access and performance quality, and commoditization. We are optimistic about ambient recording technology and its potential to have a positive impact on health care communication, relationships, and decision-making, all with the patient voice at its center, as long as it is applied carefully and equitably.