AI In Healthcare: Insights into the rapidly shifting AI Scribe Landscape

The space of ambient AI scribing has become far more competitive in this last week with Epic and OpenEvidence both making market-shaping announcements.

AI scribes are rapidly reshaping the way clinicians work in a way rarely seen through grassroots adoption of novel tech solutions in healthcare. They have captured the excitement and imagination of clinicians, health systems, entrepreneurs and investors, as ‘by-the-bedside’ proof that the age of healthcare AI has arrived.

A plethora of AI scribe startups such as Abridge, Ambience (US) and Heidi Health (AU) have raced to incredible new funding heights to quickly seize market share and adoption.

However, with Epic, the incumbent EHR ecosystem globally, announcing the launch of its own native solution, vendors face immediate competition, shrinking margins, and tougher integration pathways.

Is this an existential threat as scribe technology quickly commoditises, or a chance to strategically manoeuvre value propositions?

If Epic’s AI becomes the standard in their hospitals, and the belief holds that built-in features have better uptake than external plug-ins, then the real test will be UX. Time will tell which path delivers better care and makes life easier for clinicians.

In this post, we unpack the current market context, the strategic implications of EHR native scribes, and what it will take for vendors to succeed in the next wave of clinical AI.

Ambient AI scribes are scaling and evolving rapidly across the international healthcare markets

The AI (ambient) scribe market is currently fragmented and dynamic, with a mix of disruptive startups and incumbent software vendors fighting for nascent market share globally

AI scribe vendors are currently positioned in market segments that have differing procurement drivers:

In their respective segments, AI scribe vendors in the near-term will need to become ‘best-value’ at documentation, or become admin AI operating systems:

Vendors must deliver a strong core value proposition to its respective market to earn the right to play as the market converges towards a commoditised standard of functionality

Winning AI scribe companies must make strategic decisions now based on their current position and future trends

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