Randomized Trial Protocol: Head-to-Head Comparison of Two Ambient Artificial Intelligence Documentation Tools on Clinician Usability

A 1:1 randomized trial at UCLA Health will compare Nabla versus Epic Systems ambient AI documentation among 374 ambulatory clinicians, using follow-up System Usability Scale (SUS) as the primary outcome.

• Why it matters: Ambient AI can reduce documentation burden and EHR time, but head-to-head usability and workflow impacts—especially order queueing and coding support—remain unclear for ambulatory clinicians.
• What they did: In a covariate-constrained parallel-group trial, 374 ambulatory clinicians with a Nabla standalone license will be randomized and assessed with mixed-effects intention-to-treat analyses; the primary endpoint is SUS at follow-up.
• The result: The study is designed to inform operational decisions at UCLA Health by quantifying usability, documentation burden, perceived note quality, adoption, EHR time/productivity, and related coding/billing patterns, with results published regardless of direction.

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