What is Ambient Voice Technology? Latest UK Guide - Heidi

The Increasing Adoption of Ambient Artificial Intelligence in the UK

Uptake of ambient AI in healthcare is occurring at an unprecedented rate, arguably faster than any other new technology in the United Kingdom. The vision from its early days stays true to its application today: ambient AI structures patient conversations so clinicians don’t experience symptoms of burnout.

With this, ambient AI medical scribes have anchored their position in the daily lives of clinicians. Due to its growing utility, ambient AI systems were embedded in care delivery to secure long-term use for both patients and doctors. Factors driving adoption include:

• Burnout - Administration burden is the major contributor to burnout experienced by clinicians. Freeing clinicians from the volume of admin work is one big step in the acceptance of ambient AI scribes.
• Workforce Shortages - The increasing rates of clinicians feeling burnout symptoms affect the workforce at large. To help decrease the delay in appointments and waiting time, ambient AI scribes handle the routine note-taking so clinicians can see more patients in their average day.
• Financial Pressures - Recent data from the the Institute for Government revealed that 40.5% of NHS integrated care boards reported a deficit, impacting healthcare finances on a granular level. Elevated demand for clinician services drives up compensation costs, so integrating ambient AI scribes can be more cost-effective in the long run.
• Improving Outcomes - Generally, clinical workflows and patient trust have improved as ambient AI helps bridge the gap in patient care continuity.
• Consumer Behavior - Clinicians are more open to accepting and adopting a more flexible, tech-enabled tool that enhances not just their own workflows, but the overall patient experience.

There is no turning back with the level of clinical efficiency and productivity that ambient AI scribes help achieve. Considering these adoption factors, both clients and clinicians have been found to be comfortable and fulfilled with using ambient AI during visits.

For instance, Heidi’s ambient AI assistant for doctors helped improve patient engagement at the Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre. “I've got no worries at all,” shares David, an 81-year-old patient at the Centre, when asked about Heidi running in the background. Dr. Noble, on the other hand, noted that Heidi “is picking up all the bits of work I would generally have to do after I've seen a patient.”

5 of the Best Ambient AI Tools for Doctors

Healthcare professionals prioritize patient care quality above anything else. To foster relationships with patients, ambient AI tools lessen their workload by listening in the background and taking in clinical information. Thinking broadly, the “always on” concept of ambient AI provides a wide range of use cases in healthcare, including:

1. Ambient AI Transcription and Dictation

Medical transcription is the first and major feature common among ambient AI providers. Hospitals and clinics can now easily reduce human error in documentation by using ambient AI scribes.

An ambient AI scribe, such as Heidi, offers live transcription of patient conversations, capturing speech word-by-word. This transcript is visible in a panel, and Heidi's AI-enabled note generation streamlines your workflow even further.

2. AI-Powered Patient Support

Ambient AI supports patient care beyond the screen. Use cases of ambient AI in this aspect include identifying patients' social determinants of health. It also highlights specific needs through medical coding and helps in identifying other patient concerns that might otherwise be overlooked.

After a patient session, whether online or in-person, ambient AI can automatically generate customised summaries and delegate tasks, such as specialist referrals.

3. Ambient Artificial Intelligence Remote Monitoring

Remote monitoring with ambient AI is made possible through devices that automatically collate and analyze medical information.

For an ambulatory setting, ambient AI can be integrated with Bluetooth-enabled devices such as lapel microphones to minimize patient discomfort during conversations. This allows clinicians to move around freely while ambient AI scribes like Heidi run in the background.

4. Automated AI Billing & Insurance

As AI listens during the patient session, it maps spoken language to SNOMED-CT or ICD-10 codes and flags undercoded encounters. The automation behind this also checks eligibility by doing pre-auth during the encounter or pre-visit.

Heidi’s ambient AI removes these manual tasks from clinicians’ backs by generating and suggesting codes within documentation.

5. Ambient AI Practice Management

The future of ambient AI in clinics will handle everything from appointment scheduling to staff coordination and logistics. It will take care of smart staff shifting and recommend available slots with data from clinicians’ AI-assisted notes.

Advantages of an Ambient AI Platform vs Traditional Methods

In general, ambient AI platform companies aim to make the manual aspect of work more labor-saving while being economical. Systematic clinical processes are more efficient as they reduce the cognitive load of clinicians without hurting healthcare finances. Below, we outline the main benefits ambient AI platforms offer over traditional documentation methods.

Ambient AI Platform Performance

Compared to manual documentation, using ambient AI for documentation is proven to reduce charting time by 70% and boost ROI by 600%. This exemplifies ambient AI to be a cost-effective solution to high-volume, low-cognition tasks like documentation across any discipline.

Ambient AI Platform Integration

Connecting Heidi to your clinical system or EPR has shown significant time recovery, saving 1 hour per clinician session while reducing time. Furthermore, the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust pilot from July to November a year ago found that 87% of ambient voice technology users reported a reduction in documentation time, with savings of one to ten minutes per patient interaction.

Ambient AI Platform Workflow

Because clinical workflows in medical settings are more automated, communication between clinicians and allied health professionals (AHPs) is more seamless. On top of this, clinicians can work even in remote areas thanks to less interruptions ensured by ambient AI.

Ambient AI Platform Impact

In comparison to traditional methods, ambient AI has eliminated the need for extensive editing for documentation. In this NHS-based study, ambient AI tools were found to improve the quality and completion of clinical documentation while reducing cognitive load on clinicians.

As its clinical applications continue to evolve, the impact of ambient AI has significantly benefited clinicians.

Of all the ways AI can support care, ambient clinical documentation is already one of the most established. Heidi is used across more than 2.5 million patient interactions each week worldwide, helping clinicians transcribe visits, draft notes and get time back without stepping away from the patient in front of them.⁠