Outrage over ‘creepy’ plans for AI to listen to YOUR NHS appointments and automatically generate notes

‘Creepy’ plans to make AI listen to patients’ private medical appointments on the NHS have sparked outrage.

Health Minister Victoria Atkins said the plan, which will see AI automatically generate notes in the background, will improve productivity by reducing the time doctors spend on paperwork.

However, privacy and patient safety campaigners raised “major concerns” about the security of patient data and warned that people could be harmed because they may feel too embarrassed to discuss medical issues freely while admitted.

Others fear the notes may be inaccurate.

An AI tasked with transcribing Mrs Atkins’ speech announcing the plan incorrectly recorded her calling ‘Chris Whitty’, England’s chief medical officer, ‘Christmas’.

Her announcement yesterday followed that of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt who unveiled a £3.4 billion investment in NHS IT to boost productivity.

In a keynote speech at the think tank Nuffield Trust’s annual summit, Ms Atkins said the “huge amount of money” would be transformative.

She said she had listened to complaints from doctors and nurses on wards that “outdated” computers were keeping them afloat and vowed to modernize them, taking advantage of the “exciting opportunity” that AI could provide.

Ms Atkins added: “I don’t think we’ve had a full public conversation yet about what AI will mean for healthcare. I think we’re starting to see signs of it in the United States.”

She said voice-enabled AI is “part of our plans for this productivity plan.”

For time-strapped doctors, this means that instead of typing for 20 minutes after an appointment, the notes are taken, reducing the amount of time you have to spend tapping into a computer. Atkins said.

“I want you to take care of patients and not look at computer screens.”

Dennis Reed, director of the over-60s campaign group Silver Voices, said he has “major concerns” about the use of AI to transcribe medical notes.

He said: ‘There are significant privacy issues here, which the NHS must take seriously.

‘Patients value the confidential nature of the relationship they have with a doctor and many will be concerned if they learn that their conversations are being recorded.

‘If they are ashamed of their medical problems, they may not be as forthcoming as they need to be during a consultation where AI is listening.

‘This can lead to them being misdiagnosed or treated and causing harm.

‘There is also the question of what happens to the recording once it is stored in the cloud. There is always the possibility that it can be hacked.

‘Having used AI myself for some tasks, such as web searching, it is clear that it is not always 100 percent accurate.

‘In a medical context, errors in transcription can be harmful. And if it picks out the most important parts of the conversation, it can emphasize small details and miss important details.

‘This means that doctors have to spend time checking that the transcriptions are accurate, which ultimately means that it will not save any time at all.’

Sam Smith, from privacy campaign group medConfidential, said: ‘Patients need to know how data is used, including who records it and where transcripts go.

“Patients need to recognize this as the creepy overreach of technology that it appears to be.”

Cori Crider, director of tech justice group Foxglove, said: ‘With sky-high waiting times, GPs are under incredible pressure to see as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible.

‘But two years ago, during the GPDPR fiasco, patients were quite unanimously ‘up yours’ on the idea that the government, or anyone else, was spying on private conversations with their doctor – with a million patients opting out of sharing their data in a month.

“If the government treats people like adults and gives them clear and transparent control and consent over how this technology is used, it could be a literal lifesaver.

‘But there are no shortcuts to gaining that trust – and the government has a terrible record of slipping new NHS technology past patients without bothering to get their consent.

“Both doctors and patients need the government to stop trying to skip this vital step – and do better.”

Ms Atkins also revealed that the Department of Health has appointed former M&S CEO Steve Rowe to ensure the productivity plan ‘improves care across England’.

She said: ‘We are on the cusp of a medical revolution, where technology, personalized therapies and better data can transform outcomes for a generation that is more health-conscious than anyone before them.

‘The NHS must seize this opportunity and look to the future, not limit ourselves to what has always been done. In fact – to coin a phrase – it has to be an M&S moment.

‘This much-loved British brand, which has been a mainstay on our high streets for decades, recognized the need for change and embraced modernity, pivoting to the next generation to take over and securing its long-term future.

‘This is what the NHS needs to do to ensure it survives for the next 75 years.’

Mrs Atkins continued: “I love M&S and am very pleased to welcome Steve Rowe to the department.

‘The reason we do that is precisely because of the turnaround story that M&S ​​has had over the last 5,6,7 years, where it’s fair to say they were in the doldrums and we were all concerned about the closure of stores.

‘Now I often have a conversation with colleagues who admire their beautiful new jacket and say: ‘Oh yes, it’s M&S’.

‘And it’s because they’ve listened to what their customers have said, but they’ve also recognized that they need to go further and I think bringing Steve into the department will help us with the productivity plan but also other forms of delivery , it will be a very important step forward.’

Ms Atkin also used the speech to warn local NHS leaders that they must be held to account when they spend taxpayers’ money.

She added: ‘We need to recognize that as public services are funded by the public for the public, that attitude is not acceptable and must please change.’

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘Trust is the key issue when implementing new technologies that have a direct impact on patient data.

“Patient confidentiality will always be a top priority. Any suggestion that the implementation of new technologies will undermine this confidentiality is wrong and irresponsible.”