Ensuring AI scribes transform clinics for all clinicians
More than 2,000 clinicians at our hospitals are signed up to a pioneering AI-powered tool that saves them time in clinic and gives patients a better experience.
We are gradually rolling out the use of ambient voice technology to capture clinic conversations and generate patient letters automatically as part of a national trial.
Ongoing feedback from users has already resulted in the developers, Oracle, making technical improvements and operational refinements to the Clinical AI Agent (CAA).
For example, it is being adapted to meet the needs of different specialties and later this year it will incorporate a bespoke plain dictation function for complex cases.
This fully automated digital solution will replace the current G2 speech system in which clinicians dictate individual letters that need to be typed up before sending out.
Uptake of CAA is increasingly steadily,* with only 8% of letters still generated by G2, but some clinicians have asked for more time to transition to the new way of working.
Although G2 will switch off for most users on 31 September, we will keep a limited number of G2 licences for selected users until the end of the financial year.
Beyond that we will retain only a handful of G2 licences for services that are not on Millennium (like audiology) or need paper copies for legal reasons (like fertility).
Dr Neil Macdonald, deputy chief medical officer, said:
“We listened to colleagues to ensure a smooth transition to this modern approach to clinical documentation.
“The forthcoming plain dictation feature means CAA will offer a like-for-like replacement for G2, and the limited license extension means we can clear the backlog of letters within it. There are also resources available to support the switch-over, including training materials and user guides.”
CAA was designed as an app for mobile phones but Oracle developed a desk-top version during our testing programme, which was awarded funding by NHS London.
A survey last year showed it saves five minutes on an outpatient appointment, giving clinicians more time with their patients and reducing the burden of administration.
* To date 2,050 clinicians are registered,1,350 have used it, and more than 700 created a note this month.