AI Scribe Safety: Measuring What Happens After Signing

Abstract

Abstract Coiera and Fraile-Navarro question whether AI scribes are being evaluated on metrics that truly impact care. While current evaluations focus on the quality of the initial draft, signed clinical notes are dynamic, as their content can be copied, summarized, coded, and re-ingested by downstream AI tools. We argue that safety must be measured downstream, focusing on how small errors in initial documentation can compound across the patient’s electronic health record.