AI scribe initiative to assess impact of new technology

How useful are artificial intelligence (AI) scribes to busy GPs?
 
That is the question the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC PHN) in New South Wales is trying to answer.
 
This week it announced the start of an ‘Ambient Scribe Pilot’, described as the first phase of the PHN’s AI-Enabled General Practice Initiative.
 
It will assess the impact on GP workload, as well as patient experience, and service provision.
 
After putting out a call for an expression of interest, the PHN has now signed up 14 regional general practices to take part.
 
It comes as more GPs around Australia look at the potential of AI scribes – last August, a newsGP poll found 22% of respondents are already using them in their general practice.
 
Dr Michelle Redford, a long-standing regional GP, was recently appointed as the medical director at HNECC PHN.
 
‘We know that people are already using AI scribes,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘What we wanted to understand more was what the potential benefits and risks are.
 
‘We’re getting questions about it from our practice support teams, and we wanted more data around it so that we could put out some information that’s going to be a bit more useful.’
 
A spokesperson for the PHN said the participating general practices are choosing which AI scribe to use, with most opting for widely used medical options Lyrebird Health and Heidi Health.
 
Dr Redford also stressed that the initiative is only looking at AI scribes at this stage.
 
‘We’re not talking about decision support or the more generative uses of AI,’ she said.
 
‘We are talking about the technology that’s already in widespread use.
 
‘We’re hearing that some general practitioners love their transcription tools, and that it saves them lots of time, but we want some more data around that and a bit less anecdote.’
 
Twelve-month contracts have been sent with funding for the AI tools included as part of the package, although the initiative is not yet fully underway.
 
However, Dr Redford says the PHN is approaching the question of AI scribes ‘agnostically’ and will seek both critical and positive feedback in short surveys that form part of the initiative.
 
‘We’re interested in uptake,’ she said.
 
‘We’re interested in attrition. Why do people stop using these tools, if they do start using them and then stop?
 
‘We’re also interested in the patient experience, whether it has any impact on the consultation from the patient perspective.
 
‘A lot of this is about workforce and retention, and if these tools do help with lessening the load on GPs and improving their work-life balance, then that would be important to measure.’
 
Dr Rob Hosking, Chair of the RACGP – Practice and Technology Management Expert Committee, believes the PHN is taking a pragmatic step.  
 
‘It’s a sensible approach to do some analytics of it and see how it’s accepted,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘I’d be interested to know if there’s any net negative: some people say it’s saving them a lot of time, others, it’s leaving them more rested at the end of the day.
 
‘There’s lots of positive feelings that GPs are spending more time looking and engaging with their patients instead of entering into the computer as much. It’ll be interesting to see if this research can elucidate any benefits from the patient’s perspective, if they feel that’s the case.’
 
He also believes there is an open question on how using AI scribes impact GPs.
 
‘Is it affecting clinicians? Because they’re relying on the scribe to record [a consultation], when they go back to look at those notes, are they as cognisant of those notes as if they had written them?’ he said.
 
‘We need to use technology to our benefit, but we also have got to be careful we don’t lose skills.’
 
Dr Redford agrees that the impact of the emerging technology is still yet to be fully understood.
 
‘This is an Australia-wide issue,’ she said. ‘It is something that the RACGP has produced guidance on, but there is still a lot of unanswered questions.
 
‘We’re not expecting to answer all questions, but we want to contribute to the knowledge base.’
 
Last year, the RACGP released guidance on the use of AI scribes, warning that it is an ‘emerging field’ and advising that ‘GPs proceed with caution and apply their own judgement in deciding whether to use an AI scribe’.
 
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