N.B. health network adopts AI tool to transcribe patient appointments

Vitalite Health Network is introducing an artificial intelligence (AI) transcription tool to document patient consultations in New Brunswick.

The AutoScribe tool, which transcribes consultations in real time and generates structured notes, will be available to 130 family physicians and nurse practitioners in the health network.

AutoScribe is developed by Mutuo Health Solutions.

The transcribing tool helps with medical notes and documenting consultations with patients, which is a significant portion of health-care professionals’ workload.

Clinicians then review the generated notes to ensure the information recorded is accurate.

“This is another step towards improving the efficiency of our primary health care teams,” says Dr. Anick Pelletier, assistant vice-president of Medical Affairs. “By significantly reducing the time spent on notetaking and data entry, our clinicians will be able to give their full attention to patients during consultations and focus fully on what’s most important: providing high quality care.”

The transcription tool summarizes conversations with the care provider; it does not make any decisions about the care.

Patients must provide consent before the AI tool is used to ensure their personal information is protected in accordance with the provincial and federal data privacy laws.

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