GP surgery was praised by the Health Minister for using artificial intelligence (AI) to make health care more efficient.
Health Minister Karin Smith visited the operation of St. George, St. George, part of Weston Super Mare's Mendip Vale Medical Group, where he spoke to staff and patients about AI.
The surgery serves approximately 14,000 patients and uses AI to take notes and automate character drafting. This is checked before the clinician is sent.
Smith said: “For too long, staff have been hampered by unnecessary administrative tasks that have prevented them from caring for and treating patients.”
St. George's surgery was made in June alone with over 9,000 appointments being booked, with more than half of which taking place on the same day that the appointment was made.
As part of a 10-year health plan, the government could support providers to deploy technology, unlocking comparable capabilities of over 2,000 full-time GPS.
“We're committed to providing a great opportunity to help you,” said Andy Carpenter, digital director at Mendip Vale Medical Group. “Public practices see more patients than ever before, and the use of AI and digital technology plays an important role in helping to meet that demand.”
He added that there are many safety processes in place to keep patient data safe.
“Most patients think that AI is a benefit to the care of their patients and they are willing to make it work,” Carpenter said.
“I think GPS will be able to spend more face-to-face time, what they're doing at the moment.”
During her visit, Smyth also had the opportunity to see her active in other areas of AI, including remote refrigerator temperature monitoring to prevent the loss of vaccine stock.
“Using AI technology is really important for the future. We need to make sure it's safe. We need to make sure our healthcare is always well regulated. We will work very actively with our clinicians to make sure we are on the right track,” added Smyth.
