Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital (GOSH) has been running a trial of an ambient voice technology and AI to prepare clinical notes and letters.
Its GOSH Drive unit has worked with AI company Tortus to test the use of the tool in outpatient consultations.
The Tortus assistant uses ambient voice technology with generative AI to automate the collection of notes, which are then edited and authorised by the clinician before being uploaded into the electronic health record and sent to patients and their families.
GOSH said this enables clinicians to take a more ‘hands free’ approach to consultations and spend more time on direct patient care.
It said that in early testing in simulated clinics, all the clinicians agreed that the AI helped them to give their full attention to patients without undermining the quality of clinical notes or letters.
The tool has so far been tested in a range of medical specialities and in 100 real outpatient appointments at the hospital – for all of which consent was given. The results are now being evaluated.
Focus on patient
Dr Maikke Kusters, a paediatric immunology consultant who took part in the trial, said: “Using the AI tool 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.”
GOSH is now preparing to lead a pan-London assessment of the Tortus technology in a range of healthcare setting, including GP practices, adult hospitals, accident and emergency departments and mental health services.
Martin Machray, NHS England’s director for improvement, transformation and partnerships in London, said: “Ambient voice technology is a great example of how AI could be used to support clinicians and improve patient care, so it’s fantastic to see this being evaluated in different NHS settings across London.”
