Your next GP appointment might begin with a surprising question.
It is not “how are you?” or “what brings you in today?”. But whether you will consent to artificial intelligence (AI) listening in on the consult.
Nearly one-in-four GPs nationally are believed to be using AI for note taking, according to the Australian Medical Association (AMA).
Bendigo doctor Robert Holian said the tool has allowed him to be fully engaged with patients and leaves him less fatigued at the end of the day.
He has been trialling Lyrebird Health’s AI scribe for five months and now his clinic, Bendigo Primary Care Centre, has fully implemented the technology.
“I’m confident we’re meeting the expectations of our patients and ourselves so that the private information remains only in the person’s medical file and not with the software,” Dr Holian said.
With more patients discussing multiple complex conditions in a single appointment, Dr Holian said the AI scribe is helping him keep up.
But a legal expert says the technology could be putting patients’ sensitive medical data at risk.
Hoping decisions rest with doctor
While the AMA predicts a quarter of GPs are using an AI scribe, the uptake among other specialists, such those in hospitals, has been slower.
The AMA’s view is the AI should be a “co-pilot” with decision-making and responsibility for patient outcomes remaining with the doctor.
“You’ve got to understand the technology, what its limitations are, but also what it can do to help your patient,” AMA chair of public health Michael Bonning said.
Professor Mimi Zou is the head of the University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) School of Private and Commercial Law and echoed that doctors should do their due diligence before using an AI tool, with recent privacy act reforms granting greater powers to patients whose data is breached.
“We don’t have AI regulation in Australia and it is a risk that these AI systems may not have the requisite security controls,” she said.
Patients must also give informed consent before their doctor uses the technology.
There are no mandatory guidelines around the use of AI in medical settings in Australia.
Professor Zou called for Australia to introduce legally binding safeguards where AI use in high-risk settings would attract more stringent obligations.
“It might seem very innocent, note taking, but that could potentially lead to all sorts of risks,” she said.
A federal government spokesperson said the government was considering proposed mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings.
“Consultation on these proposed regulations closed late last year and the government is now considering the feedback received,” the spokesperson said.
Bendigo Primary Care Centre general manager Callum Wright said the tool had been integrated into the centre’s existing software and patient data remained within the protection of its network.
Lyrebird Health declined an interview with the ABC and did not respond to questions.
AI scribes the new normal?
Perth GP David Adam has seen the rapid launch of AI scribes into the market as a member of the Royal Australian College of General Practice’s (RACGP) expert committee on practice technology and management.
He said there was a “reasonable” difference in the functionality and costs in the array of products available.
A small survey conducted by the RACGP last year found GPs using the scribes did not leave work earlier or run on time more, but saved a bit of time on note taking.
But some went on to say the time they saved was taken up proofreading and editing the notes.
Dr Adam said not all doctors who had tried the technology were convinced and it was too early to say whether it would become the new normal.
