Reclaiming patient connection: Dr Falayi’s story of efficiency and empathy
Heidi Team
24 April 2025•6 min read
Dr. Kanoyin Falayi x Heidi at a glance
"Now that I've got Heidi, it's like she's my little assistant. She really does a great job of putting what I'm thinking on paper." – Dr. Kanoyin Falayi, GP Registrar
Key outcomes:
Reduced consultation time for complex cases (down from ~25 minutes to ~15 minutes)
Improved patient engagement and rapport through consistent eye contact
Less after-hours paperwork, enabling timely finishes and proper breaks
Enhanced note accuracy and polished, professional referral letters
Meet Dr. Kanoyin Falayi. She is in her final year of GP training, based near Milton Keynes. She’s on track to become a fully qualified GP by August 2025 and has been practising medicine in both hospital and general practice settings. Her mission is to give patients the care and empathy they deserve.
Challenges
Dr. Falayi works in a local clinic serving mostly middle-aged and older patients, many with complex needs. Balancing thorough documentation with empathetic, face-to-face interaction was becoming more difficult, especially within standard GP appointment times.
Capturing the right information while building rapport
“A lot of older patients come with quite complex presentations. Sometimes you spend a lot of time trolling through the story or the history that they've given you, which means that you can easily miss things.”
If you also have to focus on typing notes as well as actively listening, you risk missing valuable information and lose the opportunity to build proper rapport.
Before Heidi, I would be typing and my head would have to be turned away from the patient - but you can't really build a real connection that way.
Dr Kanoyin Falayi
GPST3 (MBBS, BSc, DFSRH) at Bassett Road Surgery
Hesitancy around AI and security
Initially, Dr. Falayi’s practice hesitated to embrace AI until they looked more deeply into the data security and compliance details. She even had to pause using Heidi:
“I had to pause it for a very short period because my practice were a bit nervous because of data protection. There was a short period when they were like, 'We don't know if it's NHS approved, so please don't use it right now.'”
This brought frustration:
“That was horrible. I was so sad… Please don't take it away from me!”
Fortunately, the practice became more open once they realised Heidi aligned with NHS guidance and Royal College of General Practitioners’ standards.
Upholding quality notes under time pressure
As Dr. Falayi prepared for her 10-minute consultations, she had to keep notes both thorough and organised:
“I like to keep everything organised. Everything needs to make sense but sometimes I used to find that my documenting would take longer because of that.”
She tried typing notes while patients spoke, which strained rapport, or dictating into her phone and copying them later, which stole her break time. Everything changed once she started using Heidi.
Solution
Dr. Falayi was introduced to Heidi by a consultant during her diabetes and endocrinology rotation. She first tested it on her phone in A&E and then fully integrated Heidi into her GP practice.
“Now that I've got Heidi, it's like she's my little assistant. She really does a great job of putting what I'm thinking on paper.”
Soon, she even encouraged her own colleagues to use Heidi.
“I showed everybody, saying, 'Guys, you need to use this now. It will change your life,'” and now “I think a lot of the GPs in my practice love it probably even more than I do!
By letting Heidi handle note-taking, Dr. Falayi and her team can focus on patients, building deeper trust and rapport, knowing their notes are taken care of.
Top 3 favourite Heidi features
Referral template generation – saving time writing polished letters, which “feel so slick. Heidi makes me sound so smart!”
Automatic transcription – Eliminates the burden of typing, allowing Dr. Falayi to “actually turn my body to look at my patients.”
Versatility across devices – Easily used on both desktop and mobile for hospital rotations, A&E shifts, and GP practice work.
Impact
“Since Heidi, I've noticed I’m able to actually have one-on-one conversations that feel a lot more natural. By the time the patient's out of the room, I just need to do maybe a few tweaks and I'm done. Onto my next patient.”
Key outcomes
Shorter consultation times for complex cases (down from ~25 minutes to ~15 minutes).
Improved patient engagement, thanks to consistent eye contact.
Reduced after-hours paperwork, ensuring lunch breaks and timely finishes.
Greater adoption in the practice, as colleagues see clear efficiency benefits.
Every detail captured with care
With Heidi capturing notes, Dr. Falayi no longer risks missing key details from patients’ stories nor the eye-contact.
“Being able to be a listening ear is something that I really enjoy and having Heidi allows me to actually turn my body to look at my patients.”
Trust in Heidi’s safety and compliance
Once convinced of Heidi’s NHS compatibility, her practice embraced the technology, removing barriers to routine use.
Quality notes under time pressure
Even in 10-minute consultations, Heidi’s transcriptions allow for well-organised, accurate records:
“I don't sound like this in real life, but my referral letters feel so slick. Heidi makes me sound so smart!”
Unexpected Benefit
Dr. Falayi finds herself leaving work on time more often, free to relax or enjoy a midday walk:
“I love to go for a walk mid-lunch break now that I'm able to get things done a little bit quicker.”
What’s next
With Heidi, Dr. Falayi has the freedom to focus on empathetic, personalised care and reclaim precious personal time.
What would I do if Heidi crashed and burned and did not exist anymore? I would cry. It’d be terrible!
Dr Kanoyin Falayi
GPST3 (MBBS, BSc, DFSRH) at Bassett Road Surgery
Thankfully, Heidi is here to stay. Dr. Falayi continues to advocate for the power of AI-driven note-taking among fellow clinicians, demonstrating that better documentation can truly enable better patient care.
