NHS testing Conversational AI to make appointments & notes
Anything concerning the National Health Service ("NHS") in the United Kingdom tends to make mainstream news pretty quickly – and that's definitely the case with this news today from Great Ormond Street Hospital ("GOSH") which, together with the NHS Frontline Digitalisation Team has been testing out Tortus AI.
Here's an overview from the news/release on Yahoo UK today:
The AI, called Tortus, uses ambient voice technology (a combination of speech recognition and artificial intelligence) to pick up relevant medical information from a conversation, while filtering out background noise and irrelevant chat.
It aims to cut down the amount of time medics spend on administrative tasks by drafting notes, follow-up letters and suggests clinical codes, which are then checked by the doctor.
The last time I was in a doctor's surgery, the doctor was essentially a typist.
He listened to me.
But only so that he could bash his keyboard to create the notes and press the buttons needed to do so.
To be fair he was very quick. And then he listened to my chest and pressed a few more buttons.
But it's not ideal the amount of time spent essentially functioning as a human API into a massive system of processes, policies and procedures.
Anything that can improve things is, I'd suggest, very good news.
So I'm pleased to hear that services such as Tortus are being tested – and hopefully, implemented too.
How are doctors reacting? Well, the response is predictably positive:
GOSH paediatric immunology consultant, Dr Maaike Kusters, told the PA news agency the technology was a “massive gamechanger in how I do my consultations”.
She added: “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.
“However, often this means I am typing rather than looking directly at my patient and their family.
Very impressive.
Good luck GOSH. Good luck Team Tortus and good luck NHS. More please!
If you're interested to learn more about the company behind the announcement, their website is at www.tortus.ai and these individuals might be a good starting point for further dialogue:
Dr Dom Pimenta is the CEO & Co-Founder:
Dr Dom Pimenta M.D.
And Christopher Tan is the CTO and Co-Founder:
