AI in healthcare: Enhancing patient care with scribing solutions

New guidance has been published to support NHS clinical teams to use AI tools to transcribe patient consultations and turn them into structured medical notes across a range of primary and secondary care settings, including GP surgeries and hospitals. The AI tools include products which use speech technologies and generative AI to convert spoken words into clinical notes and draft patient letters.

The NHS England guidance provides an overview of ambient scribing products and key considerations for chief information officers and chief clinical information officers leading AI adoption in health and care settings. It includes an in-depth review of key considerations, providing further actions for teams leading on AI adoption, such as risks relating to data and cybersecurity and regulatory compliance - all important patient safety and privacy issues. 

The guidance follows interim trial data of ambient voice technologies (AVTs) at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) which assessed AVT capabilities across a range of clinical settings which involved over 7,000 patients. 

The interim data has shown benefits across two key areas:

• increase in direct care: clinicians spending more time spent with patients rather than typing on a computer
• increase in productivity in A&E: the technology has supported more patients to be seen in emergency departments by carrying out admin for A&E staff

AVTs at GOSH have drafted medical notes and letters which were then edited and authorised by the clinical teams and then uploaded to its electronic patient record system and sent on to patients and their families. Clinicians report that AI helped them offer more support to their patients without impacting the quality of the clinic note or letter.

Dr Maaike Kusters, paediatric immunology consultant at GOSH, said:

“The patients I see in my clinics have very complex medical conditions and it’s so important to make sure I capture what we discuss in our appointments accurately, but often this means I am typing rather than looking directly at my patient and their family.”

“Using the AI tool during the trial meant I could sit closer to them face-to-face and really focus on what they were sharing with me, without compromising on the quality of documentation.”

The NHS and independent health sector providers are already using AI to speed up diagnosis and treatment for a range of health issues including:

• spotting pain levels for people who can’t speak
• diagnosing breast cancer quicker
• getting people discharged quicker

Dr Vin Diwakar, National Director of Transformation at NHS England, said:

“This exciting technology can reduce the burden of administration, allowing patients more quality time with their clinician, and our new guidance shows the NHS’s ability to rapidly and safely harness the very latest innovations to transform healthcare and bring benefits for our hardworking staff and our patients.”

This is the first of a series of guidance documents to be published over the next six months to support the roll out of ambient scribing products.

If you require support with AI adoption in your hospital setting or GP practice or are a healthtech developer looking to work with the NHS, get in touch as we have a friendly and expert team of healthcare and technology specialists.

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