“The best thing since sliced bread” - Meadowbank Family Doctors’ journey with Heidi

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Background

Dr Candida Hatherley is a general practitioner at Meadowbank Family Doctors, a ProCare partner clinic based in Auckland, New Zealand. Since acquiring the practice from retiring partners, her mission has been to deliver a high level of personalised, patient-centred care. With a dedicated team of five doctors, three nurses, and supportive admin staff, the practice serves approximately 3,600 patients.

Challenges

Dr Hatherley and her team faced several key challenges that were impacting their ability to deliver the personalised, attentive care central to their practice mission.

Juggling deeply human-centric care with endless admin

“I was trying to pack so much into the consult that invariably I couldn't write my notes at the same time.” 

“I'd have to then run late, typing notes, because the patient thinks they've got 15 minutes, and you better believe, they're going to use all 25 of them!” 

Dr Hatherley frequently juggled patient interactions with administrative burdens, leaving note keeping and referrals to pile up.

Managing precise, clear patient records

“Some of my colleagues complained about the previous scribe’s  long, wordy notes.” 

Prior to Heidi, Dr Hatherley experimented with an alternative ambient AI scribe, but noticed that the level of detail was too much. Trying to capture every detail with the previous scribeled to overly detailed notes that were difficult to quickly review or utilise effectively.

For a time, Dr Hatherley battled these ongoing frustrations, searching for tools to help streamline the workload without success, until she found Heidi.

Solution

Dr Hatherley first discovered Heidi through recommendations on a GP Facebook group. After initially trialling another solution that didn't meet her needs, she switched to Heidi and quickly integrated it into daily practice.

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Dr Hatherley’s favourite features include:

• General Practitioner's Note template – Dr Hatherleyhas enjoyed the ability to customise her templates to more closely align with her natural note-taking style.
• Efficient consult summaries – Ideal for sharing clear records with patients and caregivers.
• Adaptability - Facilitates clear, immediate documentation during in-practice and phone consultations, significantly simplifying care delivery.

Impact

“We calculated that it's saving me hours each week, which is extraordinary.”

Key outcomes:

• Significant reduction in administrative workload - from 8min to 1min per consult.
• Enhanced patient engagement during consultations.
• Improved quality and accuracy of documentation.

AI making consults more human

“Patients seem to like it because I'm more engaged and focused on them.”

Dr Hatherley shared a specific example of an elderly patient whose family appreciated the increased eye contact and warmth during consultations, as she didn’t have to turn away to the keyboard, which significantly enhanced their sense of engagement and trust.

Reinvigorated love for general practice

“It's reinvigorated my love for general practice. Now I can try and do all the things that I want to achieve for my patients in each consult.”

Heidi's efficiency has allowed Dr Hatherley not only to manage her time better but has also reignited her passion for patient care. She shared an anecdote about previously feeling drained by long evenings and weekends spent catching up on patient notes, and how now, thanks to Heidi, each consultation feels rewarding and genuinely enjoyable again.

Clear, concise records

“All my patients have received it really well, particularly the fact that they can have a copy of their consult notes immediately at the end of their appointment.”

Dr Hatherley highlighted a scenario where a patient questioned the content of their appointment, allowing her to share detailed consult notes demonstrating that multiple health issues had been thoroughly addressed.

“I can send them a copy of my consult notes and say, 'Yes, you may have thought that you only came in about your sore big toe, but we also covered your mental health, your lifestyle factors, your cardiovascular risk, your screening programmes, your immunisations, and I gave you some advice about your son's problem.'”

Unexpected benefit

“It hears things I didn't even hear, which is really awesome, but it also manages to separate out any personal anecdotes that you may have shared with the patient.”

Dr Hatherley found that Heidi effectively distinguishes any casual conversations and anecdotes from actual patient documentation. She appreciated how Heidi naturally filtered out personal stories and informal comments, ensuring the notes remained concise, professional and patient-focused.

What’s next

With Heidi supporting Dr Hatherley, she is now able to dedicate more time to growing and improving her practice, effectively balancing patient care with her administrative and business responsibilities.

“Please don't ever take it away… It's been such a revelation for my practice.”

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