AI scribe Scribenote raises USD $8.2m to ease vet burnout

The veterinary profession is facing a significant crisis of burnout, with 86% of veterinarians reporting severe stress levels. A contributing factor to this issue is the substantial burden veterinarians face in writing medical records. To address this, Scribenote, an AI-powered medical scribe for veterinarians, has secured USD $8.2 million in seed funding. The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and included Inovia Capital, the Velocity Fund, and several angel investors.

Veterinarians are legally required to document every aspect of their interactions with clients, making accurate and comprehensive medical records essential. However, the high volume of appointments, sometimes as frequent as every 20 to 30 minutes, means documentation often piles up. It is not uncommon for veterinarians to see up to 30 patients a day, leaving minimal time to document between visits. As a result, veterinarians frequently work through lunch and stay late to complete their records.

Scribenote was founded in December 2019 by Ryan Gallagher, who noticed his sister Katie, a small animal veterinarian, consistently working late to catch up on medical records. After shadowing her at the clinic, he realised that conversations during veterinary appointments could be captured in real-time to reduce her workload. Recognising that other veterinarians faced similar challenges, Gallagher, then a University of Waterloo engineering student, saw an opportunity for automation and committed to developing a solution to help his sister get home earlier.

Three years later, Ryan's promise has materialised. Co-founded by Dr Katie Gallagher, Alina Pavel, and Emily Merry, Scribenote uses AI to record conversations between veterinarians and clients and automatically generate accurate medical records within minutes. In addition to medical records and dental charts, the platform automates various forms of client communication, allowing veterinary professionals to focus fully on patient care and client relationships. By providing complete and detailed records of what was discussed, the tool alleviates the documentation burden on an already overtaxed profession.

"Scribenote is not just about saving time; it's about improving the quality of veterinary care and the lives of those who provide it," says Ryan Gallagher, Co-founder and CEO of Scribenote. "By automating the documentation process, we're enabling veterinarians to focus more on their patients and less on paperwork."

The platform is designed to be user-friendly, enabling veterinarians to start a note on their phone and add to it later from any device logged into their account. Even with poor internet connectivity, users can create offline recordings and sync them later. Scribenote runs in the background to capture audio while veterinarians attend to their patients. At the end of the day, Scribenote's desktop widget, playfully named "Draggy-Droppy," allows users to easily copy completed records into any Practice Information Management System (PIMS) within seconds.

Scribenote is currently utilised by hundreds of clinics across North America, both independently owned and through enterprise-wide deals. In less than a year, the platform has automated over 1.5 million medical records, saving veterinarians up to two hours per day. This feat was accomplished with just USD $250,000 in pre-seed funding. The AI scribe is designed for general practitioners and specialist veterinarians alike, with users ranging from recent graduates to those with 35 years of field experience. Customers report being able to take lunch breaks, spend more time with family, and concentrate more on their patients.

The veterinary industry has undergone significant changes in recent years, spurred by an influx of private equity capital and the pandemic's impacts. These changes have increased pressure on veterinary professionals to see more patients and generate more revenue. "As the market-leading AI scribe for veterinarians, Scribenote automates burdensome documentation requirements, so vets can focus on the parts of the job they love," said Olivia Moore, partner at Andreessen Horowitz. "The Scribenote team has deep empathy for the daily challenges veterinarians face and a hands-on understanding of their workflow."

With the new funding, Scribenote aims to further develop its AI technology and expand its platform. The company's long-term goal is to create personalised AI scribes for each veterinarian and build an efficient, intelligent platform for editing and finalising records. Co-founders and the growing team aim to use AI scribing as a foundation to eliminate every unnecessary click and keystroke from a veterinarian's day.