Healthcare administrative burden is compounding in private practices, with administrative tasks extending beyond scheduled hours and adding pressure to already stretched teams. In Tebra's July 2026 survey of 113 independent practices, readiness for AI is running ahead of adoption: documentation shows how AI can reduce administrative work, while most other workflows remain manual. Practices are interested in AI, but control is the price of admission: tools must be secure, built into the electronic health record (EHR), and let providers review and edit their outputs. Start by auditing one week of your practice's work to identify the biggest bottlenecks.

To reduce the healthcare administrative burden in a private practice without hiring more staff, start by identifying the workflow putting the most strain on your team and assigning someone to oversee its output before introducing new tools. 

In Tebra's July 2026 survey of 113 independent practices, 57% said work continued after scheduled hours, while 74% spent more than an hour a day on patient messages, 73% on calls and scheduling, and 65% on documentation. Here's where that time goes and how practices can reduce the burden.

Administrative work is taking up a significant share of the practice day, and some tasks require more than an hour of staff time daily. In Tebra's July 2026 survey of 113 independent practices, patient messages, calls and scheduling, and documentation emerged as the biggest time demands.

Most practices spend more than an hour a day on each of three tasks: patient messages (74%), calls and scheduling (73%), and documentation (65%).

Unanswered calls are another challenge. 42% of independent practices report missing calls during business hours every week. When front-desk staff are already juggling in-office patients, scheduling, and incoming messages, phone calls become yet another demand competing for their attention. 

Nearly half (49%) of independent practices rework a preventable claim denial every week. If you're comparing medical billing software cost, factor in the time your team spends correcting denials, too.

When administrative tasks routinely extend the workday, it’s your staff that pays the price. Our survey shows that 64% of independent practices reported staff frustration, 57% said work continued after scheduled hours, and 45% said providers had less attention for the patients in front of them.

These pressures can contribute to burnout, affecting both providers and the teams that support them. For a closer look at what’s driving physician burnout and how practices can respond, explore Tebra’s physician burnout report.

AI documentation software can save providers time by drafting clinical notes for providers to review, edit, and sign. Among practices piloting or regularly using AI documentation, 62% report spending less time overall, 64% completed patient notes faster, and 52% reported less after-hours work.

Our survey shows 29% of independent practices were piloting or regularly using AI for documentation. Separately, the American Medical Association’s 2026 Physician Survey on Augmented Intelligence found that 81% of physicians used AI in their practices, up from 38% in 2023. The AMA figure covers AI use more broadly, beyond documentation alone.

AI documentation is gaining traction, but many other administrative tasks are still done manually. In our survey of independent practices, 78% said they handled patient messages entirely by hand, while 75% managed prescription orders manually. Calls and scheduling (74%), visit prep (73%), and claims and denials (60%) were also handled largely without automation.

Practices also have a clear idea of where AI could help. Nearly half would hand off drafting clinical notes (49%) or preparing pre-visit summaries (48%) to AI. Others would use it to sort patient messages (38%), flag claims (36%), or draft message replies (30%). Overall, 86% were comfortable using AI for at least one task.

This receptiveness to AI is consistent with findings from the AMA survey: 70% of providers saw AI as a tool for tasks related to burnout. The next step is figuring out which workflows to tackle first and how to keep providers in control of the output.

As we’ve seen, the interest in AI is there, but there are still concerns about how it should be adopted and implemented across practices. 

Control is the price of admission.

One of the main concerns for practices considering adopting new technology is security and protecting sensitive patient data. In our survey, 69% of independent practices said HIPAA-compliant security was a requirement for adopting AI. 

The AMA’s survey points to similar concerns: 86% of physicians said data privacy was critical when using AI, and 85% wanted to be consulted about its implementation.

AI should fit the way your practice already works. In our survey, 65% of practices preferred AI tools built directly into their electronic health record (EHR) system. If you’re looking to integrate AI into your existing workflows, EHR software for independent healthcare practices is worth exploring.

While providers are increasingly receptive to AI adoption in independent medical practices, they still want the final say. In our survey, 61% of independent practices wanted full control to review or edit AI-generated output. 

The level of oversight may depend on the task. Some practices may want providers to review every output, while others may choose which tasks require a closer look. Either way, AI should support providers’ work without replacing their professional judgment, especially when it comes to patient communications.

Start by identifying the workflow putting the most strain on your team, then assign someone to oversee its output. This helps you focus on the work that needs attention before deciding whether new tools could help.

Step 1: Track how you spend your time.

For one week, track how much time your team spends on documentation, patient messages, calls, and scheduling. This gives you a clearer picture of where the hours are actually going.

Step 2: Compare your numbers with the benchmarks.

In our survey, 65% of independent practices spent more than an hour a day on documentation, 74% on patient messages, and 73% on calls and scheduling. If your practice spends a similar amount of time on these tasks, it’s worth taking a closer look.

Step 3: Look for signs of strain.

Look beyond the hours spent on each task. Are staff staying late to finish notes? Are patient messages going unanswered? Are preventable billing errors creating extra work? These are signs that a workflow may need adjusting.

Step 4: Choose a priority and assign ownership.

Start with the workflow causing the most strain. If you introduce AI or another tool to help, assign someone to review its output and decide when it needs correction. Clear ownership helps your team make changes while maintaining oversight of the work.

Not sure where to start? The AI Workflow Audit scores five workflows against national practice benchmarks and shows you where to focus first.

For a deeper look into how independent practices are approaching AI adoption, explore The AI Workflow Report.