GOSH pilots AI tool to give clinicians more quality-time with patients

As an Intelligent Research Hospital, we are committed to finding new and innovative ways to support our staff and improve experience and outcomes for our patients and families. The GOSH DRIVE unit is our dedicated hub for innovation and works with partner organisations to test and develop cutting-edge technologies in the hospital. The GOSH DRIVE team have been working with Artificial Intelligence (AI) company TORTUS to test an ambient AI tool in outpatient consultations.

Typically, during outpatient consultations with patients, clinicians will dictate or manually type notes into the computer and compose letters during and after the consultation. The TORTUS assistant automates this process, using ambient voice technology with generative AI to listen to the consultation and draft a clinic note and letter, which are then edited and authorised by the clinician before being uploaded to the electronic health record system and sent to patients and their families.

The technology means clinicians can take a more ‘hands-free’ approach to drafting notes and follow-up letters as TORTUS does it for them, leaving them able to spend more time on direct patient care during outpatient appointments. In early testing in simulated clinics, all clinicians agreed that the AI helped them give their full attention to their patients when using the tool, without decreasing the quality of the clinic note or letter.

The AI assistant has so far been tested by a variety of GOSH clinicians from a wide range of specialties. In an early phase of the trial, professional-medical actors played the part of patients and, despite trying to trick the tech by talking about X-Men superheroes, giving incorrect information, using different accents and using loud background noise, the AI assistant was able to correctly understand the information shared and draft clear clinical letters.

Following success with professional medical actors, it was then tested in 100 real outpatient appointments at the hospital with patients who consented to take part in the trial, the results of which are being evaluated shortly.

Dr Maaike Kusters, Paediatric Immunology Consultant, who took part in the trial at GOSH said:

“The patients I see in my clinics have very complex medical conditions and it’s so important to make sure I capture what we discuss in our appointments accurately, but often this means I am typing rather than looking directly at my patient and their family. 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.”

Now, following success in this initial phase, GOSH is leading a pan-London, 5,000 patient assessment of TORTUS in a range of healthcare settings, thanks to funding from NHS Frontline Digitisation. This will include GP settings, adult hospitals, A&E departments and mental health services.

If the trial results, and feedback from patients and clinicians is positive, GOSH and other NHS organisations will then decide whether they will deploy this type of ambient AI technology across the Trust or service to help support the care we deliver.

Anna Peck and her daughter, 17-year-old Bea witnessed the tool first hand in a recent clinic appointment with Dr Kusters. Speaking of the experience Anna said:

“It was great to see the tool in practice – during our consultation with Dr Kusters we were able to ask all our questions without any interruption thanks to the tool picking up our discussion.

"We’ve always had a great relationship with our clinicians, but this time we felt like full focus was on us. It was really positive. Due to Bea’s medical needs, we attend many appointments at different hospitals and can see this making a difference.”

Before this trial could take place, GOSH completed detailed and thorough safety checks to ensure that the technology is secure. All data are processed in secure environments and are deleted after documents are generated at the end of the consultation, with no long-term retention. Only the clinician-approved clinic note and clinic letter exist in the electronic health record system after the appointment.

Martin Machray, NHS England 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.

“Technology is already transforming the way we work in the NHS in London, and we will continue to embrace the latest innovations to deliver the best possible care for patients, moving towards a digitally-enabled healthcare system for the city”