AI Scribe for Primary Care Physicians
Document a 25-patient PCP day in seconds. Annual physicals, T2DM and hypertension follow-ups, Medicare Annual Wellness Visits, and telehealth — all with accurate ICD-10, real CPT suggestions, and the OLDCARTS-formatted HPI you were trained to write.
Documentation for Every Primary Care Visit
From the 8-minute URI to the 45-minute Medicare AWV, PatientNotes handles the full spread of encounters a PCP sees in a typical week.
Annual Physical Exam
Complete preventive visit documentation with health maintenance grids, USPSTF screening, and vaccine status. Bills as 99396/99397.
Acute / Sick Visit
Same-day documentation for URI, UTI, low back pain, sprains, conjunctivitis, and other 10-minute problem-focused visits.
Chronic Disease Management
Structured follow-up for T2DM, HTN, HLD, and CKD with A1c trends, BP averages, medication titration, and goal documentation.
Annual Wellness Visit (AWV)
Medicare-compliant G0438 (initial) and G0439 (subsequent) templates with HRA, cognitive screen, and personalized prevention plan.
Preventive Counseling
Smoking cessation (99406/99407), obesity counseling (G0447), alcohol screening (G0442), and shared decision making notes.
Telehealth Visit
Audio-and-video and audio-only encounters with proper modality documentation, modifier 95, and place-of-service support.
Built for the Way Primary Care Actually Works
Six things general-purpose scribes get wrong that PatientNotes gets right
Problem List Carry-Forward
For chronic disease follow-ups, the AI maintains your active problem list across visits and only updates what changed — new A1c, new BP, new med — rather than rewriting the assessment from scratch.
AWV-Aware Templates
Detects when an encounter contains the required AWV elements (HRA, cognitive screen, depression screen, fall risk, advance care planning) and structures the note for clean G0438/G0439 billing.
OLDCARTS-Structured HPI
HPI is auto-formatted in OLDCARTS (Onset, Location, Duration, Character, Aggravating/Alleviating, Radiation, Timing, Severity) — the way most PCP attendings were trained to write it.
2021 E/M Code Suggestions
Suggests 99213, 99214, or 99215 based on the documented medical decision making complexity using the 2021 AMA E/M revisions, with the supporting language cited inline so you can audit before billing.
Patient Instructions Generator
Generates a plain-language after-visit summary for the patient (5th-grade reading level, optional Spanish) covering medications, follow-up, and red-flag symptoms — alongside the clinical note.
Multi-Generational Family Context
Built for PCPs who see multiple family members. Recognizes context like "her husband John, who you saw last Tuesday" and keeps each chart cleanly separated.
A typical Tuesday with PatientNotes
Last reviewed by the PatientNotes Clinical Team — April 2026
You start your Tuesday with a 7:30 a.m. nursing-home phone round, then 24 patients between 8:30 and 4:30. Eight chronic disease follow-ups, six preventive visits (two of them Medicare AWVs), four sick visits, three telehealth, two new-patient intakes, and one shared medical decision making conversation about colon cancer screening for a 47-year-old with a positive family history. In the old workflow, every one of those encounters meant a chart left open until evening. Pajama time. Fights with your spouse. The reason half of family physicians report burnout.
With an ambient AI scribe in the room, the rhythm changes. You start the recording when the patient sits down. You ask “how have things been since the last visit” and you actually look at the patient. When you walk out of the room the structured note is already drafted — HPI in OLDCARTS format, ROS pertinent positives and negatives, the physical exam you actually performed (not a click-and-paste template), an assessment that carries forward last visit's problem list, and a plan with the specific medication doses you said out loud. You spend 30-45 seconds editing, click save, and walk into the next room.
The Medicare AWVs are where this matters most. CMS requires fifteen distinct elements for a clean G0438: the Health Risk Assessment, family history, list of current providers and suppliers, height/weight/BMI/BP, cognitive screen, depression screen, functional and safety assessment, list of risk factors, written schedule of preventive services, advance care planning, and others. Documenting all fifteen by hand takes fifteen minutes per visit. PatientNotes structures the note so every required element is in the chart, correctly labeled, and a single click confirms G0438 vs G0439 vs a regular preventive 99397.
Sample AI-Generated Primary Care Note
A real T2DM 3-month follow-up — the kind of visit you see five times a day
CHIEF COMPLAINT: Type 2 diabetes follow-up; refill request.
SUBJECTIVE:
58-year-old female with T2DM (dx 2018), essential hypertension, and mixed
hyperlipidemia returns for routine 3-month follow-up. Reports good adherence
to metformin 1000 mg BID, lisinopril 20 mg daily, and atorvastatin 40 mg
nightly. Home glucose log reviewed: fasting 110-135 mg/dL, post-prandial
160-185 mg/dL. No hypoglycemia. Walks 30 min, 4x/week. Denies polyuria,
polydipsia, blurred vision, paresthesias, chest pain, or dyspnea.
Mood: stable; PHQ-2 = 1. No tobacco; 2-3 glasses wine per week.
ROS: Pertinent negatives as above. No headaches, no abdominal pain,
no urinary symptoms, regular bowel habits.
PMH: T2DM, HTN, hyperlipidemia, GERD
PSH: Cholecystectomy 2014
Allergies: Sulfa (rash)
FH: Father MI age 62; mother T2DM, dx age 60
SH: Married, office worker, lives with spouse
OBJECTIVE:
Vitals: BP 132/78 (avg of 2 readings), HR 74, RR 16, T 98.4 F,
Wt 84.2 kg (-1.3 kg from last visit), Ht 165 cm, BMI 30.9
General: Well-appearing, NAD
HEENT: PERRL, EOMI, OP clear, no thyromegaly
CV: RRR, no m/r/g, peripheral pulses 2+ bilaterally
Pulm: CTAB, no wheeze
Abdomen: Soft, NT, ND, BS+
Extremities: Monofilament 10/10 both feet, no ulcers, no edema
Skin: No acanthosis, no diabetic dermopathy
Psych: Euthymic, appropriate
LABS (drawn 1 week ago):
- A1c: 7.1% (down from 7.6% last quarter)
- Fasting glucose: 128 mg/dL
- Lipid panel: TC 178, LDL 96, HDL 52, TG 145
- eGFR: 78 mL/min/1.73m2; UACR 18 mg/g (mildly elevated)
- AST 24, ALT 28
- TSH 2.1
ASSESSMENT:
1. Type 2 diabetes mellitus, controlled (E11.9) — A1c at goal of <7.5%
per ADA standards for this patient profile; trending down. Mild
albuminuria — early diabetic nephropathy.
2. Essential hypertension, controlled (I10) — at goal of <130/80 per
ACC/AHA for diabetic patient.
3. Mixed hyperlipidemia (E78.5) — LDL at goal <100 mg/dL on
atorvastatin 40 mg.
4. Obesity, BMI 30.9 (E66.9) — modest weight loss this quarter.
5. Anxiety disorder, by history (F41.9) — currently stable, no Rx needed.
PLAN:
1. T2DM: Continue metformin 1000 mg BID. Add empagliflozin 10 mg daily
for renal protection given UACR. Repeat A1c and UACR in 3 months.
Continue annual diabetic eye exam (referred today) and foot exam.
2. HTN: Continue lisinopril 20 mg. Home BP log to be brought to next visit.
3. HLD: Continue atorvastatin 40 mg. Repeat lipids with next labs.
4. Obesity: Encouraged continued exercise, reviewed Mediterranean diet.
Discussed GLP-1 options if motivated; patient prefers lifestyle first.
5. Preventive: Pneumococcal booster due — PCV20 administered today (Z23).
Mammogram up to date 2025; colonoscopy due 2027. DEXA at age 65.
6. Patient instructions: After-visit summary generated; medications
reviewed; teach-back confirmed understanding of empagliflozin SE
(genital mycotic infection, euglycemic DKA red flags).
Follow-up: 3 months. RTC sooner for hypoglycemia, polyuria, or weight loss.
CPT: 99214 (moderate MDM: 4 stable chronic problems + Rx management)
90471 + 90677 (PCV20 administration)
ICD-10: E11.9, I10, E78.5, E66.9, F41.9, Z23Common Primary Care ICD-10 Codes
Eight codes that show up on roughly 80% of PCP encounters — PatientNotes suggests them inline
Z00.00General adult medical exam without abnormal findingsE11.9Type 2 diabetes mellitus without complicationsI10Essential (primary) hypertensionE78.5Hyperlipidemia, unspecifiedF41.9Anxiety disorder, unspecifiedJ06.9Acute upper respiratory infection, unspecifiedN39.0Urinary tract infection, site not specifiedZ23Encounter for immunizationThe AI ties each suggestion to the specific phrase in your note that justifies it, so you can audit before billing. CPT suggestions for the same encounter (99213/99214/99215, G0438/G0439, 99396/99397) appear in the same review panel.
Three primary care practices, three different setups
How solo, group, and hospital-employed PCPs use PatientNotes day-to-day
Dr. Anita Patel, MD
Solo DPC practice, suburban Charlotte NC
Anita runs a 480-patient direct primary care panel single-handed. She switched from Freed.ai for the price ($50 vs $99) and stayed for the AWV templates — she runs 30-40 Medicare AWVs per quarter and the G0438 documentation alone saves her three hours a week. She finishes notes between patients and leaves clinic at 4:30.
Dr. Marcus Chen, DO
8-provider IM/FM group, Phoenix AZ
Marcus is medical director of an 8-clinician primary care group on Athenahealth. The group standardized on PatientNotes after a 30-day pilot showed average chart-close time dropped from 22 hours to under 4. Shared templates across the group keep documentation consistent for chronic disease follow-ups; the practice manager pulled MIPS reporting straight from the structured problem lists.
Dr. Rachel Kim, MD
Hospital-employed PCP, Banner Health, Tucson AZ
Rachel sees 24-26 patients a day in a Banner-owned clinic on Cerner. Hospital IT does not allow EHR write-back integration, so she copy-pastes notes; even with that the tool saved her so much pajama time she resigned from her medical director role to focus on clinical work and family. She uses the Spanish patient-instructions feature for roughly 40% of her panel.
Coming from Microsoft Dragon Medical One?
The most common upgrade path in primary care, and a fair comparison from someone who has used both.
Dragon Medical One is a mature, EHR-integrated dictation engine owned by Microsoft (via the Nuance acquisition). Tens of thousands of physicians know it well, and for many older PCPs it is what “medical voice software” means. It is genuinely good at what it does: you talk, the cursor types, your custom vocabularies and macros work in any text field. It is also a fundamentally different category of product than an ambient AI scribe.
Dragon Medical One
- Type: Dictation (you speak, it transcribes)
- Cost: $99-199/user/month + setup
- Workflow: Talk after the visit
- Output: Verbatim of what you said
- Best for: Heavy text-field environments, custom macros
PatientNotes (Ambient)
- Type: Ambient (it listens to the encounter)
- Cost: $50/user/month, no setup
- Workflow: Talk to the patient, the note writes itself
- Output: Structured SOAP, codes, AVS
- Best for: PCPs seeing 20-30+ patients/day
How to switch in three steps
- Run them in parallel for one clinic day.Dictate with Dragon as you normally would, and record the same visits with PatientNotes. Compare the SOAP notes side-by-side. Most PCPs find PatientNotes captures pertinent negatives Dragon missed (because you didn't say them out loud during dictation, but the patient mentioned them during the visit).
- Convert your top three Dragon macros into PatientNotes templates.“Normal-MSK exam”, “CKD plan”, “diabetes plan” — whatever your most-used macros are. Templates let you keep the muscle memory.
- Cancel Dragon at contract renewal. Most Nuance contracts auto-renew annually; check your terms. Read more on the Dragon vs PatientNotes comparison page.
PatientNotes vs Freed.ai for Primary Care
An honest comparison. Freed is a respected competitor — here is where each tool wins.
Freed.ai is a strong product and a fair benchmark. It launched in 2022, raised a $30M Series A in 2024, and has become especially popular with solo PCPs who want a clean, single-purpose ambient scribe. We have talked to hundreds of physicians who tried both. Here is a fair side-by-side:
| Capability | Freed.ai | PatientNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price (single user) | $99/month | $50/month |
| SOAP / HPI quality | Excellent | Excellent |
| ICD-10 + CPT suggestions | Limited | Tied to source phrasing, auditable |
| Medicare AWV (G0438/G0439) | Generic SOAP only | Dedicated AWV templates |
| Team / multi-provider plan | Available, separate pricing | Built in, role-based access |
| Patient AVS / instructions | Not generated | Generated, Spanish supported |
| Custom templates | Yes | Yes, shared across team |
| Best for | Solo PCP, SOAP-only workflow | PCPs who bill AWVs, group practices |
Read the full breakdown on PatientNotes vs Freed, or compare across the small-practice EHR landscape on Best EHRs for Small Practices.
Primary Care AI Scribe — FAQ
Reviewed by the PatientNotes Clinical Team, April 2026
Does PatientNotes work for primary care?
Yes. Primary care is one of our most-used specialties. PatientNotes has dedicated templates for annual physicals (CPT 99396/99397), Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (G0438 initial, G0439 subsequent), problem-focused sick visits (99212-99215), and chronic disease follow-ups for diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The AI captures HPI, ROS, and a structured problem list from a 10-minute conversation.
How much does an AI scribe cost for primary care?
PatientNotes is $50 per user per month for primary care, with a 7-day free trial. By comparison, Freed.ai is $99/month, Heidi Health charges $99-129/month for the Pro plan, and Microsoft Dragon Medical One runs $99-199/month per provider plus implementation fees. Most PCPs we onboard reclaim 1.5-2 hours per day, which at a Medicare 99214 rate of roughly $130 means the tool pays for itself in the first patient on the first day.
Is Freed.ai better than PatientNotes for primary care?
Freed.ai is a strong product with good single-user UX and a polished SOAP output. PatientNotes is roughly half the cost ($50 vs $99/month), supports team practices with shared templates and role-based access, generates ICD-10 and CPT suggestions tied directly to the assessment, and produces patient instructions and after-visit summaries in the same pass. For a solo PCP who only needs SOAP notes, Freed is reasonable. For a group practice, AWV-heavy schedule, or anyone who bills G0438/G0439 monthly, PatientNotes is meaningfully more capable.
Can primary care notes be auto-generated from a conversation?
Yes. PatientNotes records (or accepts an upload of) the encounter, transcribes it via Groq Whisper, identifies speakers, and generates a structured SOAP note with an HPI in OLDCARTS format (Onset, Location, Duration, Character, Aggravating/Alleviating, Radiation, Timing, Severity), a relevant ROS, the physical exam, an assessment with differential diagnosis, and a plan. For chronic disease visits, the AI carries forward the problem list and updates only what changed — A1c, BP readings, medication adjustments — rather than rewriting from scratch.
Does PatientNotes integrate with Athenahealth, Epic, or eClinicalWorks?
PatientNotes works alongside any EHR, including Athenahealth, Epic, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, Practice Fusion, Elation, AdvancedMD, and Greenway. The note is generated in PatientNotes and copied or pasted into your EHR encounter. We are working on direct FHIR-based write-back for Athenahealth and Epic; in the meantime the copy-paste workflow takes 4-6 seconds per note and works regardless of EHR vendor or hosting model.
Will it help me bill primary care CPT codes correctly?
Yes. PatientNotes suggests E&M codes (99213, 99214, 99215) based on the documented medical decision making complexity per the 2021 AMA E/M revisions, and flags AWV-eligible elements (G0438/G0439) when the encounter contains them. For preventive visits it suggests 99396 (40-64) or 99397 (65+). Suggestions are tied to specific phrases in the note so you can audit before submitting — the tool does not auto-bill.
How do I switch from Dragon Medical One to PatientNotes?
Dragon is a dictation tool — you talk, it types. PatientNotes is an ambient scribe — it listens to the patient encounter and generates the note for you, so you stop dictating altogether. To switch: (1) start a 7-day free trial, (2) record three real visits in parallel with your normal Dragon workflow and compare outputs, (3) cancel Dragon at the end of your contract term. Most PCPs who switch tell us the bigger adjustment is psychological (trusting the AI) rather than technical.
Is PatientNotes HIPAA compliant for primary care?
Yes. PatientNotes is HIPAA compliant, signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with every paid practice, encrypts audio and notes in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256), and stores data in SOC 2 compliant US-based infrastructure. Audio is auto-deleted within 30 days of note generation by default; notes are retained per the practice retention setting.
More resources for primary care practices:
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