'I said no': New AI request hitting Aussie GPs

A patient asked whether this was normal practice. Have you been asked to sign the consent form yet? 

Aussies paying a visit to their local GP are being "caught out" by a new form they're being asked to sign. 

For form in question? Written consent for the medical expert to use AI scribe during their visit.

And yes, of course people are divided over it. 

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"I said no"

An Aussie took to a local Reddit thread to share a document they were given at a recent appointment at their local medical centre. 

"Went to GP today and the receptionist asked me if I want to sign the 'AI Medical Note-Taking consent form' with AI Scribe," they shared, along with a snap of the form.

The Aussie went on to confirm that they "said no" to signing the form because of a few warning bells sounding. 

"I can see its benefits of having a faster review of my records and issues but my biggest concern is data breach and privacy," they said.

"Where [is] data stored? In an Amazon AWS region in Australia or US? Who has access to it?"

The post prompted many to share the same concerns. 

"Yeah, I wouldn't have signed it either," one person commented. 

Another person chimed in with: "I would be asking for their privacy policy, and details of the company and any info on where the AI is hosted. There is far too little info on this page to make an informed decision. And I’d be telling them that. Good on you for saying no. I bet a lot will just sign it and not think."

"Another huge problem is accuracy - if the physician doesn’t review their notes properly, people will literally die," another added. 

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People are unsure whether or not to sign the document. Image: Reddit

 

Is this OK? Aussie GP weighs in

According to The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, AI scribe is used to summarise medical visits to help reduce admin and avoid burnout in doctors before and after appointments. 

While it considerably reduces the burden on our medical professionals, concerns over privacy and security (including data breaches) have been raised as legitimate concerns. 

For Kidspot's resident GP, Dr Sam Hay, the tool is a helpful way to cut down on workload, so doctors can purely concentrate on their patients' medical needs. 

"The reality is that the whole world is progressing, and AI is here to stay, so we should be focusing on adapting rather than combating," he tells Kidspot. 

"To be honest, I do use AI scribes in my consultations now. What they do is capture more information than we are able to write down in the notes both during and after the consultation. It makes for more comprehensive and medically legal sound documentation."

Dr Sam adds that Aussie should expect to be see more forms like this being handed around during their various medical appointments, but be informed - not alarmed. 

"Of course there needs to be a little bit of caution. The intention for these programs is to simply transcribe and summarise a consultation. No Doctor should be using this technology to diagnose and provide management plans," he adds.

"I will admit to occasionally using AI to assist with guiding management, but it is always in the context of my own clinical assessment, and researching more widely from reputable sources. Bottom line this technology is available, evolving, here to stay, and generally a major advantage for Doctors.

"What doctors need to do is be satisfied that the program they are using is encrypted, stored in Australia, complies with Australian regulations, and ideally is deleted once the summary is transferred into the patient notes."

 

Originally published as 'I said no': New AI request hitting Aussie GPs