From midnight notes to real-time records: How AI transformed one GP’s workflow

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Background

Dr Henry Konopnicki is a GP based in Melbourne, Australia, with over four decades of medical practice spanning pathology, general medicine, aged care, and community psychiatry. He currently operates a private community practice, works part-time in general practice, and provides aged care services independently at nursing homes (Abberfield Aged Care Facility) and boarding houses. His practice involves managing complex, chronic conditions, mental health cases, and comprehensive aged care assessments.

He has a strategic interest in primary care and completed an MBA at the University of Queensland. His interest in digital transformation of health and AI led him to postgraduate studies at Melbourne University.

Challenges

Managing extensive documentation and time constraints

"My typing is atrocious - notes took hours, often until midnight."

Dr Konopnicki faced significant challenges managing detailed notes for complex consultations, particularly in aged care and psychiatric settings. Despite using voice-to-text solutions previously, comprehensive documentation often spilled over into personal time, impacting his workload, efficiency, and overall stress levels.

Capturing detailed clinical interactions

"Consultations in aged care were complex - remembering every detail was nearly impossible."

‍Interactions involved detailed patient histories, multi-disciplinary discussions, and thorough examinations. Keeping track manually resulted in incomplete or fragmented records, diminishing follow-up quality and continuity of care.

Transitioning between locations and technologies

"I needed seamless access across desktop, laptop, and smartphone, but technology wasn’t always reliable."

His community-based practice required flexibility, moving between private rooms, aged care facilities, and remote consultations. Previous tech solutions lacked reliability, causing frequent disruptions.

Solution

Dr Konopnicki learned about Heidi through exploring emerging AI-driven clinical documentation solutions, initially trialling a free version before fully adopting it across his practices.

"I started using Heidi on a free trial, it changed my workflow almost immediately."

Dr Konopnicki now uses Heidi daily to capture live consultations via  PC, laptop and smartphone, depending on the context of the consultation, generating structured clinical notes and comprehensive patient summaries instantly. Heidi also allows him to integrate external specialist notes seamlessly into his documentation workflow.

Henry’s top 3 favourite features:

• Real-time conversation capture: Instant generation of structured clinical notes.
• Flexible template customisation: Easy to modify and adapt templates for specific patient scenarios.
• Document synthesis: Ability to compile multiple external specialist notes into concise summaries.

Impact

Dr Konopnicki reports substantial improvements in clinical efficiency and patient interaction quality:

Key outcomes:

• Reduced documentation time by 2–3 hours daily, eliminating late-night administrative work.
• Improved accuracy and detail in clinical records, ensuring clarity and continuity.
• Increased capacity to handle complex patient cases effectively, resulting in higher quality care and reduced clinician stress.

Efficient, accurate note-taking

"Instead of midnight notes, now I finish immediately after each consult."

Documentation tasks that previously extended into evenings are now completed immediately, freeing more time for clinical care.

Enhanced patient interaction

"Without typing notes during consults, I focus fully on patients - eye contact, conversation, and thorough assessments."

Heidi enables Dr Konopnicki to maintain undistracted, quality patient interactions, capturing nuanced clinical details effortlessly.

Improved clinical workflows

"My consultations have fundamentally changed. Heidi ensures every significant detail is documented instantly."‍

Dr Konopnicki’s consultations now follow a streamlined workflow where real-time conversation capture facilitates immediate, accurate note generation, significantly enhancing clinical efficiency and reducing cognitive load.

Streamlined collaboration

"Staff envy how quickly and clearly I produce notes; they see immediate benefits."

Notes generated by Heidi are clear and structured, facilitating seamless communication among multidisciplinary teams and care providers, crucial for complex aged care management.

What's next

Dr Konopnicki continues refining Heidi’s templates to better reflect the evolving needs of his multi-faceted practice.

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This has led to the development of a comprehensive medical assessment in residential care template, which can be tailored to the facility’s specific requirements.

With Heidi, Dr Konopnicki anticipates further enhancing his service capacity, particularly in aged care, where demand for thorough, accurate, and timely documentation remains critical.

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