'I was exhausted working 70 hours a week as a top surgeon – a revolutionary AI tool changed my life'
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Dr Michael Ewing shared a video on LinkedIn earlier this week, detailing how the product has not only given him back precious time with his family and children – but also saved patients’ lives.
Like many doctors, the 36-year-old dad spent his residency overworked, logging hundreds of hours.
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Hide AdMuch of Dr Ewing’s workload was actually down to endless charting, rather than focusing on his true passion: patient care.


He longed to find a solution to have the capacity to be more present and now, he’s found it, through a “game-changing” tool called SurgeOn Scribe, launching today (10 December).
Using AI technology, the feature automates the clinical documentation process – cutting down on mistakes, saving time and also whittling out the likelihood of any legal problems.
“Doctors want to help people – that’s why we chose this path – but we are forced to spend so much time charting, when all we really want to do is to talk and listen to our patients,” said Dr Ewing.
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Hide Ad“I see about 50-60 patients a week and I have to remember small details, regardless of the situation.
“But doctors are only human – there’s a lot of mental stress and a lot of time that’s wasted by trying to recount visits.
“On top of that, we are constantly being pulled in multiple directions and there’s always another emergency going on.
“I save at least an hour a day in the clinic now and I can’t tell you how valuable it is for my mental capacity.
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Hide Ad“Not only that, but I now spend 95% of patient visits listening to what patients are saying rather than making mental notes or being distracted by the demands of charting.
“Reviewing my own experience, I calculated that saving time on chart notes could allow surgeons to see up to an additional seven people per day in a half-day clinic.
“This AI tool will save patient’s lives.”
Growing up, Dr Ewing actually wanted to be a professional guitar player. He was working in an ER while studying music, when he became fascinated by the medical profession – which led him to switching courses completely.
The doctor said: “I had been working as a scribe to make extra money but didn’t expect to be so inspired by how physicians worked with their hands.
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Hide Ad“Surgery specifically has the ability to cure people in certain situations and this spoke to me.
“So I switched college tracts, which was not easy.
“Surgical training is exhausting and surgical life as an attending is even more exhausting due to the constant demands of patients. It keeps you from your family and there is also a mental strain.
“Now, with SurgeOn Scribe, I get home an hour earlier twice a week, allowing me to see my children more.
“I can also take an extra day off every month, which is life-changing for my family.
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Hide Ad“Time is my most valuable asset and this tool gives it to me in droves.”
With burnout becoming more common in the medical field, Dr Ewing knew there must be a better way of working and found himself wanting to do something to help.
His feelings were echoed by three other surgeons in the field; Dr Jeremy Heffner, Dr Mario Leyba and Dr Mark Soliman.
The trio founded the app SurgeOn, with the aim to put an end to the “isolation” felt universally among surgeons.
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Hide AdIt allows medical professionals to share cases and complexities of a job that most non-surgeons have a tough time relating to.
But more needed to be done and that’s when Scribe was born.
The new feature, which is found within the app and is launching today, hopes to provide a better patient experience.
It allows users to transcribe medical notes either straight onto the computer or, if connectivity is low, onto an Apple Watch.
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Hide AdPartnering with MedQuill, a AI-powered medical documentation platform that Dr Ewing helped create, this new product will help SurgeOn’s network of over 15,000 surgeons get their lives back.
“For surgeons, our work-life balance is dictated by others more than people realise,” added Dr Heffner, co-founder of SurgeOn.
“Note writing and documentation has eaten up a significant portion of our lives.
“For the first time in years, we can truly connect with patients and have meaningful conversations with them.
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Hide Ad“I also have more time to be with my family, maintain my own fitness levels and mental health.
“As I age I have truly realised the value of time as a commodity, therefore having more time is priceless.”