An artificial intelligence scribe tool that helps doctors take notes on their interactions with patients is now being tested in 81 emergency departments across Alberta.
Launched in November 2024, the tool — now known as “Jenkins” — listens in as doctors speak with their patients, easing the burden of record-keeping.
To date, 373 physicians have completed training and are now actively using the system. They have recorded nearly 31,000 clinical sessions for a total of 3,000 hours of audio. Jenkins is also being tested by 30 family physicians.
“Broad adoption isn’t just about handing out software,” says project lead Jake Hayward, assistant clinical professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, emergency physician and deputy clinical head of quality improvement with Alberta Health Services. “It requires intentional support and integration with existing electronic health records.”
First created by Michael Weldon, an emergency doctor and engineer based in Red Deer, and further developed by Hayward and his team of fellow U of A AI + Health Hub members, Jenkins uses large language models to transcribe and summarize the meaning of conversations. Patients must consent to its use.
