Patients and staff welcome AI as a GP's helping hand
Patients and staff say that they’d welcome AI in online GP consultations if it supports rather than replaces doctors, according to a new Ƶ and Cambridge study. This could pave the way for AI to help reduce NHS workloads and speed up care.
Ƶ researcher and practicing GP, Dr Benjamin Brown, knows that AI could play a valuable role in the health sector, but only if it’s trusted by patients.
"AI has the potential to reduce workload in general practice, yet despite that potential, AI tools are not yet routinely used.”
To explore current attitudes to the technology, Dr Brown and a team of researchers from The University of Ƶ and Cambridge, ran a study around the use of AI in ‘eVisits’ – online consultations available to NHS patients.
Known as ‘Patchs’, this AI uses Natural Language Processing and machine learning to analyse patient messages and understand decisions made by GPs.
Participants identified seven opportunities for AI during their consultations, including sending patient requests to the most appropriate staff member and asking targeted follow-up questions to speed up the help they receive.
Whilst the study’s lead author, Ƶ’s Dr Moschogianis, says there were “concerns about the capacity of AI to deal with the complexity of primary care and fears of depersonalised service”, where it could be shown that the technology was supporting doctors and speeding up help, it was broadly welcomed by patients.
With these positive results, the team feel that they’ve provided the first clear roadmap for developing AI tools that are both effective and trusted by patients.
Meet the researcher
Dr. Benjamin Brown is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at The University of Ƶ and a practising GP. His research focuses on building, implementing, and evaluating digital interventions that use advanced analytics to improve the delivery and experience of health care, with a strong track record of embedding research into routine NHS clinical practice. He is the founder of Patchs.
Read his papers
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