AI and Medical Transcription: Is it all that it’s cracked up to be?

Medical transcription has been a crucial aspect of clinical practice for decades.

It doesn’t seem long ago that NHS Consultants armed with zinc battery-powered dictaphones would dictate onto mini cassettes, which were then strapped to a pile of heavy patient notes with a large rubber band, often to be left on a shelf for days on end before being typed and sent out. While this method worked, it was painfully slow and inefficient.

It goes without saying, that in today’s world of Private Practice, accurate documentation and swift communication are vital.

With the rise of AI technology, tools have emerged that promise to streamline the transcription process and even produce intelligently edited notes, pretty much in real-time.

But is AI really the answer to all transcription problems? Let’s explore the pros and cons of AI transcription and why human oversight remains essential.

The Evolution of Medical Transcription

Historically, medical transcription relied entirely on manual effort. Clinicians dictated notes, which were typed by secretaries and returned for review. In Private Practice, clinicians have two choices – either type their own notes and letters (a ridiculous time-suck), or outsource the transcription to a professional service.

Outsourcing transcription has several key benefits:

1. Time-saving – You can focus on patient care rather than administrative tasks.
2. Improved accuracy – An experienced medical secretary, familiar with your clinical language, can spot errors or inconsistencies.
3. Better workflow – Having a secretary manage transcription means smoother clinic operations, as documentation flows seamlessly into patient care.

AI Transcription: A New Era

AI technology has revolutionised transcription. Early voice recognition software required considerable training and was prone to mistakes. Modern AI tools are much more sophisticated. They can transcribe spoken words quickly and using large language models can “understand” the context, filtering out non-essential conversation to focus on clinical details.

AI scribe software can operate in the background during consultations, recording the conversation and transcribing it into notes or letters. This seems like a game-changing solution to the time-consuming task of note-taking and transcription.

Advantages of AI in Medical Transcription

1. Speed – AI can transcribe notes almost immediately, helping you stay on top of your documentation. You don’t need to write anything down, and you can focus on the patient in front of you, which could make for a better patient experience.
2. Cost-effectiveness – While AI tools require an initial investment, they can reduce the long-term costs of outsourcing transcription.
3. Availability 24/7 – AI platforms can be accessed at any time, from any location, which is especially useful for busy clinicians who need to work remotely.
4. Learning your style – Some (but not all) AI platforms can learn your personal style of documentation, ensuring consistency over time.

The Risks and Disadvantages of AI in Medical Transcription

While AI transcription offers many benefits, there are also significant risks, particularly when it comes to accuracy and patient safety:

Accuracy issues: Despite improvements in AI, the technology still struggles with medical terminology, accents, and nuanced language. Errors in transcription can lead to serious miscommunication and impact patient care.

For example

1. A request for “MRI of the left shoulder” might be accurately transcribed as “left shoulder”, but an eagle-eyed Medsec would spot the discrepancy and take action to clarify this with you.
2. Medication dosage errors, such as “10 milligrams” when you meant “10 micrograms” could potentially have dangerous consequences for the patient, if you’re writing to a GP to ask them to prescribe for the patient.

Patient discomfort: Some patients may feel uncomfortable knowing that AI software is “listening” to their consultations, even if it’s purely for documentation purposes. Clinicians might also find it awkward to explain this technology to patients, potentially disrupting the flow of the consultation. Saying something like, “I’ll be talking aloud while examining you so the AI can record it,” could feel intrusive for some patients.

Missing context: AI might not fully understand the context of a conversation, potentially leaving out crucial information. For example, a patient recovering from surgery may mention in passing that they’ve changed what they’ve been eating for breakfast because of bloating—something that could indicate an early sign of post-op bowel obstruction. An AI system might disregard this as irrelevant, missing a key symptom that should have been documented.

Drug name confusion: AI can easily mix up similar-sounding medication names. For instance, “Amitriptyline” might be confused with “amlodipine”, which could result in prescribing the wrong drug.“Metformin” could be transcribed as “morphine”.

The need for double-checking: Many clinicians find that they spend as much time reviewing and correcting AI-generated notes as they would have spent using traditional transcription methods. Even if you’re passing this over to your admin team completely, it can prove to be as expensive as the time taken for human transcription.

Real-Life AI Bloopers: What Could Go Wrong

Here are some real-life ‘bloopers’ from AI transcription we’ve witnessed:

“The patient has been sent for haemorrhaging” – when it should have been MRI imaging.

“The patient has recurrent seborrheic varicose veins” – which led to an awkward email exchange with the patient’s confused GP.

“The patient had trouble with scrotum” – a real faux pas when you consider the patient was female and had had trouble with squatting.

“The patient wasn’t trying” – when it should have been “the patient was a triathlete”.

Perhaps the most disturbing mistake we’ve witnessed from AI transcription was when the Consultant had said that “the patient was very stoical” and AI decided that “the patient was very hysterical”. Ouch.

The Hybrid Approach: AI Plus Human Expertise

At MPM, we understand the benefits AI can bring to a busy clinic, but we also recognise its limitations. This is why we recommend a hybrid approach—combining the speed and efficiency of AI with the expertise of experienced medical secretaries.

Your administrative team can ensure that AI-generated notes are accurate, well-formatted, and free from potentially dangerous errors. This way, your documentation not only saves you time but also maintains the high standard of care your patients expect.

Conclusion: Striking the Right Balance Between Accuracy and Efficiency

AI has undoubtedly transformed medical transcription, offering a level of speed and efficiency that was previously unimaginable. However, the risks associated with over-reliance on AI—particularly in clinical settings where precision is crucial—are too great to ignore.

We help clinics strike the perfect balance by combining the speed of AI with the accuracy of human expertise. If your practice is currently using or considering AI transcription tools, we can help you optimise your workflow to achieve both efficiency and accuracy.