Peer-reviewed research
Note composition strategies and physician time in the Epic EHR (note writing by transcription, dictation, SmartTools and copy/paste)
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2023 · DOI 10.1007/s11606-022-07834-5
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A secondary analysis of Epic Signal data for 215,207 U.S. ambulatory physicians from September 2020 to May 2021. Physicians were grouped by how they wrote their notes, and the study compared time spent on notes per visit across groups, including physicians who mainly used transcription and dictation.
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed, large, and drawn from the vast majority of Epic's U.S. ambulatory users. It is observational, so it shows association rather than cause. Physicians who dictate may differ in other ways, and the data come from one EHR vendor's warehouse.
Facts taken from this source
- The Epic analysis covered 215,207 U.S. ambulatory physicians using the Epic EHR between September 2020 and May 2021.
“A total of 215,207 US-based ambulatory physicians using the Epic EHR between September 2020 and May 2021.”
- Physicians who mostly used copy/paste spent more time on notes, at an average of 13.1 minutes per visit.
“while those using mostly copy/paste ( n =23,426) spent more time on notes ... average 13.1 min per visit”
- In the adjusted comparison, physicians who mainly used transcription and dictation spent 1.30 minutes less per visit on notes than physicians with predominant SmartTools use.
“physicians with predominant Smart Tool use. ( b =−1.30, 95% CI=−1.62”
- In adjusted models of Epic data, physicians who mainly used transcription and dictation spent less time on notes per visit than physicians who mainly used SmartTools, at an average of 4.8 minutes per visit.
“physicians using primarily transcription and dictation ( n =15,928) spent less time on notes than physicians with predominant Smart Tool use ... average 4.8 min per visit”
Pages that rest on this source
- Dictation for Work: Doctors, Lawyers, Writers, StudentsTopic
- AI Medical Scribes and Ambient Clinical DocumentationGuide
- Dictation Machines: What They Do and Who Still Uses ThemGuide
- Professional Dictation Software for Specialist FieldsGuide
- Does Dictation Change How You Write?Guide
- Does Epic have built-in dictation?Question
- How do you dictate notes quickly?Question
- Medical Dictation: Software, Devices and How It WorksGuide
- Dictation for Nurses, Therapists and Allied HealthGuide
- How much time do doctors spend on documentation?Question
- Why do doctors dictate their notes?Question