AI tools: What GPs think
 
 
 

October 22, 2024

AI tools: What GPs think

Most GPs believe innovation improves patient health outcomes, yet only eight per cent of them identify as innovators and 35 per cent as early adopters, a new report has found.

The RACGP’s Health of the Nation 2024 report revealed that while the majority of GPs regularly use digital technologies — such as electronic prescribing — only 13% felt well-informed about innovations within general practice.

The report, in its eighth year, surveyed 3006 practising GPs.

This year, GPs were asked about their perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours regarding innovation in general practice, including:

  • adopting new care delivery methods, such as telehealth;
  • improved communication between healthcare professionals, including interoperable health records; and, 
  • new mechanisms to enhance patient care, such as patient enrolment schemes like MyMedicare.

GPs identified funding incentives as the most significant enabler of innovation in general practice, with 60% highlighting this factor.

While one survey respondent enthused, “Innovation has significantly enhanced general practice, particularly through technology”, 83% of GPs reported that they rarely or never use artificial intelligence tools.

GPs were asked, ”What new innovative practices or methods do you believe should be adopted to positively impact the care you provide?” They said:

  • electronic health records, which improve care coordination and reduce errors
  •  telemedicine, which increases accessibility
  • AI-driven tools 
  • systems that talk to each other/improved interoperability
  • streamlined administrative systems that analyse business data
  • new models of care
  • multidisciplinary care
  • a health status dashboard for patients to see what is recommended for their age
  • remote monitoring, including wearable devices and health apps that empower patients to monitor their health

“Overall, these advancements save time, enhance accuracy, and enable more personalised healthcare, ultimately improving patient outcomes and the efficiency of general practice,” a GP summarised.

Regarding using AI scribe tools, one GP expressed increased job satisfaction after adopting the technology: “A happy GP is a good GP, and I’m even reconsidering my retirement plans.”

Founder and CEO of MediRecords Matthew Galetto commented that the report’s chapter on innovation “notably omits discussion of cloud and related technologies as a key enabler of digital innovation in primary care practices”.

“The report also lacks mention of the government’s initiative to promote real-time information sharing using FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) standards, which are essential for interoperability and seamless patient care,” Mr Galetto said.

“FHIR is also a key enabler of digital innovation.”

MediRecords is a leading digital innovator in healthcare, delivering cloud-based solutions built to FHIR standards across a diverse range of medical environments, from primary to tertiary care. Its recent integration of Heidi AI Scribe, an advanced AI tool powered by Heidi Health that streamlines clinical documentation, reinforces MediRecords’ commitment to digital innovation. Learn more about the partnership between Heidi Health and MediRecords here.

Experience Heidi AI Scribe in MediRecords

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MediRecords teams with Heidi Health for smarter clinical notes
 

September 25, 2024

MediRecords teams with Heidi Health for smarter clinical notes

AI note-taking technology to streamline clinical documentation will be available in MediRecords from October.

 

The leading cloud electronic health record and practice management system will offer an integration with Heidi Health’s AI Medical Scribe, enabling clinical consultations to be transformed into notes or documents in seconds. Doctors will not need to log into a separate software system, or cut and paste across browser tabs, thanks to embedded Heidi capability inside MediRecords.

Supporting millions of sessions per month, Heidi generates documents such as referral letters, clinical notes and Care Plans. With Heidi scribing, doctors can type less and reclaim time for patient care — or better work life balance.

MediRecords Founder and CEO Matthew Galetto said: “Everything we can do to improve working conditions for clinicians helps them provide better patient outcomes. We are excited about partnering with Heidi Health and our other AI initiatives on the way.”

Heidi Health Founder and CEO Dr Thomas Kelly said: “As a clinician, I recognise that doctors rarely experience benefits from introducing new tools. Heidi is the rare case where simply clicking a button can be life-changing, saving hours of work each day. We’re proud to be partnering with MediRecords, who have led the industry in cloud, interoperability and now, AI.”

Heidi Health data shows clinicians spend more than two hours per day on tasks other than patient care, losing up to $66,000 annually as a result. AI scribe technology means they can work up to twice as efficiently. Doctors who use Heidi report “getting home on time” and “taking their lunch break again.”

With a Heidi subscription, MediRecords users can launch AI ambient technology from their clinical dashboard, transforming consultations into templated notes for review by the user. Once reviewed, the notes are automatically added to MediRecords’ Today’s Notes field. Heidi Health technology is GDPR and APP (Australian Privacy Principles) compliant and ISO27001 and SOC2 accredited for security.

MediRecords is a multidisciplinary EHR and PMS system used by clients including Queensland Health, the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department and soon to be deployed by the Australian Defence Force.

Media inquiries

To arrange to speak with Mr Galetto, or for further information on MediRecords, please email Tim Pegler or call 0435 444 690.

To arrange to speak to Dr Kelly, please email leah@heidihealth.com.

Key features MediRecords customers can expect with Heidi AI Medical Scribe

AI Scribing

Rely on high-quality AI scribing for consultations lasting up to two hours, ensuring detailed and accurate notes.

Multilingual Scribing

Benefit from Heidi AI Scribe in 26 languages, supporting diverse patient communities.

Smart Transcription

Upgrade from traditional dictation to smart transcription. No need for manual commands like "Full stop. New line."

Custom Templates

Create your own note formats or choose from pre-built templates to suit your clinical workflow.

One-Click Access

Once configured, you can open Heidi AI Scribe directly within MediRecords without the hassle of separate logins.

Auto Documentation

Following clinical review, Heidi AI Scribe adds notes to Today’s Notes, streamlining your documentation process.

Interested in finding out more about Heidi AI Scribe in MediRecords?

Register below to receive updates on the launch of Heidi Health’s AI Medical Scribe in MediRecords.


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What’s happening in health?
 
 
 

July 9, 2024

What's happening in health?

As one of the biggest industries on the planet, there’s always something happening in healthcare. Here’s what has captured our attention recently.

Industry news

Private hospitals are facing tough times as costs of doing business keep rising while a major source of their revenue – private health insurers (PHI) – are seen to be holding tight to profits. The ill-will between PHI and private hospitals is best demonstrated by the battle between the St Vincent’s group and NIB, which is at breaking point.

Suggestions of a crisis in the private hospital sector are underlined by key players co-operating with a Federal Government review. Health Services Daily reports that, “79 facilities — including day surgeries, endoscopy centres, private hospitals, wound care centres, cosmetic surgery centres, dental centres, respiratory and sleep disorder clinics, dialysis clinics and mental health centres — have either closed or revoked their declaration as a private hospital since 2019”.

Internationally, post-pandemic use of telehealth has fallen and major retail chains who leapt into healthcare are back-pedalling. American companies Walmart and Walgreens winding back their health businesses (see What retail titans might do next on health care (axios.com)), makes us wonder how Healthylifeis going for Woolworths, locally.

The pressure to be profitable means most hospitals are searching for ways to reduce the costs of delivering care. Managing patients in their own beds may be cheaper than hospital beds and so the cash-strapped UK National Health Service has committed to scaling up virtual care.

If the NHS needs a success story to use as inspiration, the ever-innovative Cleveland Clinic is hailing its acute hospital care in the home program a success for patients and staff, while acknowledging further improvements are possible. For details, see Lessons from Cleveland Clinic’s 1st year of ‘hospital at home’ (beckershospitalreview.com).

Melbourne’s Austin Hospital has also committed to virtual wards as business as usual, particularly for cardiac and haematology patients.

And the Federal Government is funding virtual careto chip away at a barriers to accessing mental health inpatient care, (partly caused by a shortage of accessible psychiatrists).

Keeping it real on artificial intelligence

Investors seeking share-market alchemy remain bullish on Artificial Intelligence while potential end users want ethical, regulatory and security assurances to precede introduction of these potentially very useful new tools. The American Medical Association offers sensible tips on technology adoption here: In the push for AI in health care, avoid EHR rollout mistakes | American Medical Association (ama-assn.org)

As to the smorgasbord of AI news, here is an aperitif:

 

Source: Future Health Index 2024 Better care for more people

We're all healthcare consumers

We also keep a close watch on consumer health news, in the interest of all of us avoiding hospitalisation. Here are some insights aimed at keeping our engines running:

Evidence is mounting that good gut health boosts mental health and ability to handle stress. Stress: Could a healthy gut microbiome make you more resilient? (medicalnewstoday.com)

Multivitamins, however, might only contribute to expensive and colourful urine. Another Study Finds No Life-Extending Benefit From Multivitamins (healthday.com)

In other product news, the old advice (or excellent marketing) that taking aspirin reduces risk of heart attack appears to have been debunked – unless you have previously had a stroke or heart attack. American Adults Warned Over Aspirin Use Despite Risks – Newsweek

Stanford University research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, has identified six different types of depression, which has implications for better treatment and management of mental ill-health. 6 types of depression identified in Stanford study | CNN

And there are clear reasons to avoid COVID19 because the long form of the illness is particularly nasty. Report: More than 200 symptoms tied to long COVID | CIDRAP (umn.edu)

The last word

Police, prisons and hospital emergency departments are often the professionals most likely to be dealing with people experiencing acute mental ill health. Here’s a good news story of how technology and faster access to treatment can successfully divert people from EDs and custody – https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/outfitting-police-telehealth-ipads-mental-health-program-saves-government-62m?

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Keeping it real: Artificial Intelligence to dominate digital health-tech in 2024

January 11, 2024

Keeping it real: Artificial Intelligence to dominate digital health-tech in 2024

Twelve months ago, MediRecords made eight predictions about health-tech trends to watch in 2023. While we weren’t too far off the mark, it’s fair to say some of these emerging trends are still, well, trending. Nonetheless, as we welcome 2024, it’s time to look forward again.

 

Any health-tech pundit will have two words for you in 2024: Artificial Intelligence. This is because the AI genie is out of the bottle. The race is on to use this nascent technology in healthcare so that it is safe, secure, accurate, and unbiased. Here are some of the ways AI is being deployed — or will be:

Smart notes: Using AI assistants to translate consultations into clinical notes should mean less administration and more time for person-centred care. This doesn’t mean the AI is diagnostic, just smart enough to summarise a conversation into pertinent points, after listening to a telehealth or in-person appointment

Data-driven decisions: No two patients are exactly the same but algorithms can detect patterns across thousands of previous cases and predict the statistically most likely path forward. This will be the basis for health coaching, chronic disease and other illness management programs, hopefully providing timely information at ‘teachable’ moments that can alter and optimise patient outcomes.

Handy insights: Your handheld device or wearable is likely to know things about you before anyone else. How hard you tap the screen, your vocabulary, tone of voice, gait, facial expression, skin tone, heart rate, respiration, perspiration and oxygen saturation are signposts to your mental and physical health. Combining these data points will enable earlier interventions. Imagine how powerful this could be for triggering a call to a clinician or counsellor when a patient needs help or reminding someone to take their medication.

Getting under your skin: A drop of blood, a lick of saliva and other bodily fluid samples can help you find long lost relatives but also medications that work better for you and foods that make the orchestra in your gut microbiome play in tune. Consumer kits for quicker insights into fertility, fitness, faeces and more, will become readily available.

Coming to your sensors: Data will be harvested from sources including your phone camera, your clothing (See This AI-Powered Sock Could Revolutionize the Care of People With Dementia | Tech Times) and even your toilet (See This Futuristic Toilet Sensor Reads Your Pee to Measure Health – CNET). If it can be measured, it will be.

Next available: As competition for healthcare-consumer dollars increases, buyer power is boosted. Consumers will expect Uber-style technology to find the next available appointment and have their results and medications delivered, pronto. If funding and regulatory hurdles can be leaped, healthcare could potentially be delivered globally.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Speaking of regulations, there’s much anticipation associated with the Federal Government’s recently released Digital Health Blueprint for the next decade; see:

The Digital Health Blueprint and Action Plan 2023–2033 | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care). A key commitment is that personal health data is available and interoperable – in other words useable — wherever you need care. MediRecords is actively involved in the Sparked community developing core national standards for FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources). We look forward to Federal incentives for adherence to new industry-wide data models so that healthcare organisations can seamlessly share information.

Looking within

The acclaimed US science-fiction author Ray Bradbury had the following to say about predicting the future: “Predicting the future is much too easy… You look at the people around you, the street you stand on, the visible air you breathe, and predict more of the same. To hell with more. I want better.”

This sentiment is central to MediRecords’ digital health wish list for 2024. We understand the job is never finished. Health tech can never stop striving to do things better, smarter and safer. MediRecords is building next-generation, cloud-connected healthcare. We can confidently predict we’ll be sharing major new product enhancements in coming months.

About MediRecords

MediRecords is Australia’s leading cloud electronic health record and patient management system. MediRecords is used by clinicians providing outpatient and inpatient care in community health, Defence, hospitals, emergency medicine, industry, universities, and telemedicine.

References

“Tremendous emerging demand”: The security and data challenge in Australian healthcare – Cloud – Digital – Security – CRN Australia

AI May Be on Its Way to Your Doctor’s Office, But It’s Not Ready to See Patients – KFF Health News

Amazon Health Launches New Initiative To Address Chronic Conditions (forbes.com)

Cardiology has embraced AI more than most other specialties (cardiovascularbusiness.com)

Health technology in 2024: Projections for AI, digital health, and more (chiefhealthcareexecutive.com)

Use Technology to Support Your Clinicians | HealthLeaders Media

Why Providence had to ‘blow up’ the old way of providing care with virtual nursing (beckershospitalreview.com)

https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/addiction-recovery-provider-sees-success-ai-enabled-telehealth-meds-monitoring

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/disruptors/google-says-medical-ai-tool-is-performing-at-an-expert-level.html

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-health/new-apple-headset-coming-in-february-could-be-used-by-hospitals.html

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/innovation/a-recipe-for-magic-how-baptist-health-is-infusing-ai-into-all-levels-of-care.html

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/mayo-clinic-inks-multimillion-dollar-deal-with-ai-startup.html

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/telehealth/is-virtual-nursing-overstated.html

https://www.pulseit.news/australian-digital-health/ifhima-2023-digital-health-adoption-in-primary-care-and-the-covid-effect/

https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/how-ai-powered-clinical-notes-api-could-boost-telehealth

https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/why-ai-will-never-eliminate-need-pharmacists

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    Innovative solutions: Transforming patient care with next-gen AI

    November 7, 2023

    Innovative solutions: Transforming patient care with next-gen AI

    Using generative AI for almost-instant, accurate clinical notes is rapidly gaining momentum, with smart solutions emerging in Australia and globally.

    And telehealth may be one place this tech shines brightest.

    The fever-pitch buzz around generative AI in healthcare is not surprising, since it was valued at more than $1 billion last year, and poised to reach $22 billion by 2023.

    Documentation burden

    “With clinicians overloaded and staff shortages worsening, improving clinical documentation, workflow and optimisation of electronic medical records is more critical than ever,” as Dr Simon Wallace wrote in The Medical Republic this year.

    A survey last year of 1,000 UK doctors, nurses and allied health professionals revealed they spent an average of 13.5 hours per week generating documentation, up 25% in the last seven years.

    Here and now

    A team of Aussie doctors, designers and engineers at Heidi Health aims to “give healthcare providers superpowers” with their generative-AI clinical-notes tool. It records and transcribes consults, then transforms them into “whatever you need next — specific forms, patient explainers — or something else, just ask Heidi”.

    Being present

    Dr Shiv Rao, a US cardiologist and CEO of a Abridge, a vendor of generative-AI clinical documentation tech, told Healthcare IT News: “ … [Turning patient conversation into highly professional notes with quality and accuracy … [means] that we could refocus our profession on what matters most – being present and listening.”

    “We could all but eliminate the administrative load that has eroded the quality of doctor-patient conversations and has famously broken the spirit of many clinicians,” he said.

    The power of more than one

    Solutions that pair AI with existing tech are booming. For example, APIs have been developed to seamlessly integrate SOAP notes and other clinical notes into workflows and virtual-care platforms.

    Telehealth was fertile ground for AI, according to Kwindla Hultman Kramer, CEO at AI-video-audio specialist company Daily.

    “All audio is already being captured digitally, ready for transcription and summarisation. This makes telemedicine a good starting point for adding new AI tools into healthcare workflows,” he told Healthcare IT News.

    Safety first

    While it is acknowledged that generative AI in healthcare will have to address concerns about whether tools are safe, equitable and adhere to privacy requirements, internationally, countries are co-operating to create a safer future with AI.

    In November, Australia, and 27 countries including the EU, US, UK, and China, signed the Bletchley Declaration. This agreement encourages the safe, ethical, and responsible development of AI, focusing on human-centric, trustworthy, and responsible usage.

    The federal Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, said while there is immense potential for AI to do a lot of good in the world, “there are real and understandable concerns with how this technology could impact our world”. 

    “We need to act now to make sure safety and ethics are in-built. Not a bolt-on feature down the track,” he said.

    MediRecords is an electronic health record and patient management system platform well suited for enabling and underpinning innovative new technology, including AI tools.

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