Robot medical secretaries introduced at NHS trust

[Northerner]

A hospital trust has brought in robot medical secretaries to work alongside its human staff in what it claims is a first for the NHS.

The three so-called virtual workers at Ipswich Hospital, run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust, are designed to free staff up from “mundane and repetitive” tasks so they can spend more time on patient care.

The software, built by automation technology company Thoughtonomy, monitors incoming referrals from GPs throughout the day and reads them.

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/national/16969383.robot-medical-secretaries-introduced-at-nhs-trust/

 

[mikeyB]

Aye, it’s cheaper to sack people and use this system. That’s why they’ve developed it.

I don’t get the premise- medical secretaries have nothing to with patient care, unless they mean answering the phone to talk to irate patients waiting for an appointment.

The other thought I have is that I have yet to see an NHS computer system that works properly.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Sounds a good idea.

If it gets through all the paperwork electronically, and presents a report in a standard format on a tablet, it'll cut down on everyones time, and massively reduce waste paper as well.

AI is definitely here to stay, and works very effectively.

(I have a smart house, Alexa can obey voice commands, run the heating, lights, TV, order food in, can learn my preferences, or I can do it all remotely. Already I have a cost saving from shutting the house down if I go away, background heating can come on if it needs to to stop the house freezing, then when I am an hour away it'll wake up and run the heating up to full temperature. Ok, maybe one day it may create an army of cyborgs that'll take over the world, but until then.....)

 

[mikeyB]

Or until there’s a power cut. I’ve thought about doing the same, but probably for different reasons, but while I can still stand and switch the lights on, I will.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Or until there’s a power cut. I’ve thought about doing the same, but probably for different reasons, but while I can still stand and switch the lights on, I will.

Lights won't work in a power cut, whether I can stand or not to be fair.
Then again, who knows the path ahead either.

 

[mikeyB]

Maybe you don’t know why I said that. I can now only stand with the help of two sticks, and can only walk around the flat with two sticks. Last year it was one stick. I think I know the path ahead - an indoor wheelchair.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Maybe you don’t know why I said that. I can now only stand with the help of two sticks, and can only walk around the flat with two sticks. Last year it was one stick. I think I know the path ahead - an indoor wheelchair.

No, I know why you said it.
Personally, I'm not there yet.
But, who knows what path lies ahead of us.

All we can do is prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

 

[Amigo]

My hospital has introduced an automated answering service and that’s abysmal. It took me 4 attempts to get through to an out-patient dept but did so via the labs, the main ward and probably the porter’s office!
Only when I screamed did I get put through to a human (obviously it’s programmed to recognise frustration).

I’d feel more reassured if I believed NHS systems worked. Today I’ve talked to two entirely separate medical secretaries from different hospitals and specialities. Both helped me immensely and were involved in my care and individual circumstances. I didn’t want to converse with a robot! 🙄

 

[Deleted member 21371]

My hospital has introduced an automated answering service and that’s abysmal. It took me 4 attempts to get through to an out-patient dept but did so via the labs, the main ward and probably the porter’s office!
Only when I screamed did I get put through to a human (obviously it’s programmed to recognise frustration).

I’d feel more reassured if I believed NHS systems worked. Today I’ve talked to two entirely separate medical secretaries from different hospitals and specialities. Both helped me immensely and were involved in my care and individual circumstances. I didn’t want to converse with a robot! 🙄

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