Examine Clinicians' Modification of Hedging Language in Ambient AI Documentation: A Comparative Study of AI Drafts and Final Notes
Authors: Yiliang Zhou, Yawen Guo, Di Hu, Sairam Sutari, Emilie Chow, Steven Tam, Danielle Perret, Deepti Pandita, +1 more
Organizations: Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA · Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA · Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA · Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
Ambient AI documentation systems generate clinical note drafts that clinicians frequently revise before signing off into electronic health records, yet how these edits alter hedging language remains unclear. We conducted paired analysis of clinician-edited portions of ambient AI drafts and final notes to examine (1) whether these edits change the prevalence of hedging language, (2) whether these edits exhibit a systematic shift toward greater certainty or uncertainty, and (3) whether these changes in hedging prevalence and directionality differ by ambient AI vendors and clinical specialties. Among 62,811 paired note sections, hedging terms were more often introduced into previously non-hedged text than removed from previously hedged text, and post-edit text contained more hedging mentions than pre-edit text. Directionality analyses showed a significant overall tendency toward greater uncertainty in hedging-related replacement edits. Vendor and specialty analyses revealed substantial heterogeneity in hedging prevalence, pre-to-post changes in hedging mentions, and directionality.
Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA · Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA · Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA +3
Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA · Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA · Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA +1
Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA · Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, NY · Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA +3