At many general practitioners in Drenthe ‘he is already on the desk. Round in shape, black in color and no larger than a coffee dish.
“It is a microphone that listens the conversations between me and the patient and turns into text,” explains general practitioner Yoeri Zuidwijk from Assen. At his practice in the Marsdijk district they have been using the device for over a year. “And with a mouse click, a summary of the conversation is made.”
The microphone and the software behind it are an application of artificial intelligence, also known as AI. “Many general practitioners in Drenthe are already using it,” says Zuidwijk. Because it provides the doctor and the patient benefits.
“I have more time to listen carefully to the patient without the same patient being watching a typing doctor. In addition, it is incredible how well the device listens. Even if I am in the adjacent investigation room with the patient, the device understands what is being discussed.”
The microphone is one of the many applications of AI in healthcare. At Doctor Drenthe, to which many GPs in Drenthe are affiliated, they are now waiting for the approval of a system where the post is ‘sorted’. “We receive about fifty letters per doctor per day. Specialists, hospitals, laboratories, etc.. The content of those letters is summarized and then ends up neatly in the file.
But there is also critical look at the safety of the AI applications, because that cannot simply be used without rules.
“Most medical AI systems fall within the high-risk safety condition,” explains Balázs Markos. The RUG PhD student investigates the impact of AI on the rights of the patient. To comply with this condition, providers, importers, distributors and users are obliged to follow certain rules. For example, it is necessary to build in human supervision. “People still have to keep looking and read to check whether the written summary is correct,” says GP Zuidwijk. “Sometimes I get small mistakes out of it, but in general it is very reliable.”
For the use of the AI microphone in the consultation room, no specific permission is required from patients. “Because even without the device we already processed information from the patient in the medical file. The device also does not store any data,” Zuidwijk emphasizes.
GP Zuidwijk can no longer miss the application of the extra listening ear. Because in addition to time saving, it also provides another advantage: “It speaks its languages,” laughs Zuidwijk. “He understands, among other things, Drents, Arabic and Ukrainian!”