Artificial intelligence (AI) has become so much a part of our lives that we often don’t even realize when we’re interacting with it. Is the customer service rep we’re chatting with online a real person or AI?
Even in the doctor’s office, AI might be part of the visit. It might be “listening” and taking notes of conversations between patients and doctors.
The OSU study
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center implemented a pilot program last year that used AI during outpatient clinic visits (with patient permission) to take notes. According to the physician in charge of the program, it “saved up to four minutes per visit. That’s time the physician can use to connect with the patient, do education and make sure they understand the plan going forward.”
Of course, some doctors could use this “saved” time to see more patients each day rather than spend better “connecting” with the patient. A larger question is whether AI note-taking improves or harms a doctor’s understanding and memory of what a patient has told them.
Doctors participating in the program reported that they found relatively few errors and only minor ones when they reviewed their AI-generated notes. Still, it’s critical that they review those notes as soon as possible, when their memory of the visit is fresh, so they catch any errors.
What are the potential risks?
If they wait until they’ve seen several patients before going back and reviewing the notes, it can be easy to confuse one patient with another. This could result in serious misinformation going into a patient’s records. This, in turn, could cause a missed or inaccurate diagnosis and a potentially useless or even dangerous treatment plan – as well as added problems down the line if the information is never corrected.
Doctors depend on ever-changing and advancing technology to improve patient outcomes. It’s crucial, however, that they don’t let it replace the knowledge, experience and skills that patients rely on them for.
Even if an AI is used to take notes, doctors are still responsible for the accuracy of those notes – and likely for any harm that might result from errors in them. Legal claims for medical negligence are often challenging to bring and win – and even more so when technology or equipment is thrown in the mix. That’s why it’s wise to get trusted legal guidance as soon as possible.
