Source: Medow Health
There’s a warning New Zealand is too slow in adopting Artificial Intelligence in the healthcare sector, with specialist doctors declaring a more rapid uptake would relieve pressure on the country’s medical system.
Joel Freiberg, Co-Founder of Medow Health said new cutting edge technology which operates silently in the background transcribing notes, drafting reports, and streamlining medical documentation, had the power to reduce waitlists.
The number of people waiting more than four months for elective procedures like hip, knee, or cataract surgeries increased by over 2,500 per cent in a 12 month period, according to government data.
“We’re not trying to replace doctors, we’re trying to help them. Manually producing medical reports is a time-consuming and complex process that requires extensive paperwork and hours of labour-intensive work,” Mr Freiberg.
Dr James Leong, a Wellington-based ophthalmologist with expertise in cataract surgery, medical retinal conditions and uveitis, admits the technology has allowed him to stay on top of his workload, see more patients and spend more time with his family.
“I see between 24 and 30 patients a day as well as surgery days across both private practice and the public health care system. While I have been used to taking notes my entire career, it is not always what is best for the patient and the rest of the team, because I have my own form of shorthand that no one else can decipher,” Dr Leong said.
“I understand the concerns that some have about the concept of artificial intelligence. But what this technology really does is free up my human intelligence for where it matters most: my clinical judgment, my focus on the patient in front of me, and complex decision-making. It handles the mechanics of taking notes, but it never replaces the essential human elements of care: empathy, experience, and nuance.
“I often summarise what I am seeing and discuss the condition, like I would if a medical student was in the room, so not only does the AI scribe pick it up but the patient likes it too because they get slightly more detailed information about their condition.
“I can see a patient and by the time they see my receptionist I can have their follow up letter in laymen’s terms ready for them,” Dr Leong said.
Joel Freiberg adds “Specialists have been stuck using outdated reporting systems that pull their attention away from the patient. AI not only saves time but also improves the quality of patient interaction.”
“While this technology allows a single doctor to see two or three extra patients a day, scaled up across the health system, it has the potential to make a serious dent in specialist waitlists.
“When doctors get their time back, patients benefit,” he said.
There have been 250,000 specialist consultations in the last quarter alone across both New Zealand and Australia using the AI “co-pilot” Medow Health technology, the only AI tech tailored specific to each medical specialist’s need available in New Zealand.
“With the AI assistant taking care of tedious administrative tasks, clinicians are reporting improved focus during consultations, additional time in their day and reduced work out of hours and week
