Trial Use of AI Scribes in Consultations
Our practice is currently trialling the use of AI Scribe technology during some GP consultations to help improve the quality and efficiency of our services. This includes systems such as AccuRx Scribe, Xon Tortoise, and Heidi.
What Are AI Scribes?
AI Scribes are secure digital tools that assist clinicians by generating a written summary of the consultation in real-time. This helps your clinician focus more on you during your appointment, rather than spending time typing up notes afterwards.
AI Scribes hear the conversation and types up the relevant notes. It works by listening to the conversation with your GP and typing up notes, so the GP can focus more on you. It's only interested in medication information relevant to your care.
The Scribe uses some simple AI. Scribe software is beuilt by a team of doctors and uses some basic AI to turn the conversation into clear notes to support yoru care and help the doctor save time.
Your GP Checks all the notes. Your GP will review and edit the notes before saving them to your medical record - nothing is added to your medical record by the Scribe software. All decisions about your care are made by your doctors.
Your conversations are private. The technology follows all the necessary UK data, privacy rules and NHS Standards. Your voice recordings are not stored. Only what your GP decides is needed is saved to your medical record.
I's always your choice. If you're not comfortable using a Scribe, ask your clinician on more information on how it works. If you feel uncomfortable, you can let the clinician know and ask them not to use it.
Potential Benefits to Patients
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Improved face-to-face time with your clinician, as they spend less time typing during or after the consultation.
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More accurate and complete records of your consultation.
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Faster documentation can support better continuity of care.
Information Governance and Privacy
We take your privacy and data protection extremely seriously. The AI Scribe tools we are trialling are:
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Fully GDPR-compliant
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Approved for use within the NHS
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Only record and process information with strict safeguards in place.
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Any audio recordings (if used) are transcribed and deleted securely after use.
Only necessary and relevant parts of your consultation are processed, and these tools do not store or share your data for any other purpose outside of clinical care.
Your Choice
If you would prefer not to have an AI Scribe used during your consultation, that is absolutely fine. Please inform the clinician at the beginning of your appointment, and they will ensure the AI Scribe is not used.
We are committed to ensuring that this technology supports, rather than replaces, the personal and professional care we provide. Thank you for helping us explore innovative ways to improve your experience with our service.