A new artificial intelligence scribe that could save GPs five minutes per patient consult has been launched nationally.
Telstra Health’s Smart Scribe aims to improve productivity and patient care by reducing the administrative burden faced by GPs.
Telstra Health claims the time saved on administration could save GPs thousands of dollars annually.
The AI-powered voice recognition tool, integrated within MedicalDirector Clinical, converts patient-doctor conversations into clinical notes in place of doctors manually writing notes.
The new tool also generates referral letters, patient summaries and medical certificates which can then be reviewed and edited by the doctor.
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In initial testing with 140 GPs the Smart Scribe tool saved an average of five minutes per patient consult, equating to cost savings of up to $40,000 per GP annually, Telstra Health said in a statement.
The provider has partnered with two AI integrators – Heidi Health and Intellitek Health – to underpin SmartScribe.
GP and Clinical Director at Telstra Health Dr Janice Tan said the tool was a game-changer for healthcare delivery.
“We’re adopting a smarter way to work that significantly enhances workflow efficiency. Smart Scribe not only saves time but also improves the accuracy and efficiency of our practice, ultimately allowing us to focus more on delivering quality patient care,” Dr Tan said.
“With the flexibility to choose the AI provider that best suits their practice, Smart Scribe levels the playing field by allowing GPs and general practices to optimise their clinical documentation process with AI, without paying for features or functions they don’t need.”
According to the 2024 RACGP Health of the Nation report, 70% of GPs are concerned about their heavy administrative workload, compared to 60% in 2023.
“GPs have continued to raise concerns about the heavy administrative burden on general practice,” the report stated.
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Administration, among other things, was causing practitioners to rethink their careers, some GPs suggested.
“I think the ever-increasing difficulties and red tape of being a GP – audit threat, medico-legal risk, administrative burden, encroachment on scope of practice – make it very unappealing to be a GP which will result in less GPs and ultimately worse health outcomes for patients,” one said.
Some 61% of GPs surveyed as part of the report said innovation had the potential to improve and streamline administrative functions.
Yet only 3% were familiar with AI-enabled administrative tools, compared to 89% who said they were unfamiliar.
GPs were most familiar with natural language processing tools and least familiar with AI-powered clinical decision support systems, according to the report.
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“Low levels of familiarity with AI tools was even prevalent among GPs who identified as ‘innovators’ or ‘early adopters’,” the RACGP report found.
“Health consumer data shows that 53% of people are comfortable with AI being used to support appointment scheduling, while 32% are comfortable with AI-assisted diagnoses.
“When this data is contrasted with GP familiarity and implementation rate of AI tools, this indicates there may be potential for more wide-spread AI advances to be made in general practice.”
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