When the Machine Writes Your Story: AI Scribes, Hallucinated Medicine, and the Patients Left Behind

[sczoomers@mstdn.ca]

When the Machine Writes Your Story: AI Scribes, Hallucinated Medicine, and the Patients Left Behind

HELIOX: WHERE EVIDENCE MEETS EMPATHY
May 25, 2026 • 41:56

A patient said "I became ill with something viral."
The AI scribe wrote that they had taken "hyperactivated antibiotics" — a drug that doesn't exist — into their permanent medical record.
This happens ~1% of the time. One platform: 7M+ patient visits. That is tens of thousands of fabricated clinical details floating through real people's files.

The crisis is real: 2.5M Ontarians have no family doctor. Physicians spend 15–20 hours weekly on administration. AI scribes promised relief. And in some ways, they delivered. But researchers Dr. Allison Koenigke (Cornell Tech) and Dr. John José Nuñez (UBC) began auditing the notes — and found failures that are not just imperfect, but dangerous.

#MedicalAI #HealthTech #PatientSafety #AIEthics #HealthcarePolicy