Your doctor’s AI transcriptionist may be making things up, an Ontario study has found

In recent years, many overworked doctors have turned to it so-called AI medical secretaries helping to summarize patient discussions, identification, and care decisions into standardized documents for health tree cutting. But a recent study by Ontario’s top official found that the AI ​​secretaries promoted by the provincial government regularly produce incorrect, incomplete and speculative information that “may lead to inadequate or harmful plans that could affect the health of patients.”

In a a recent report on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Ontario governmentThe Auditor General reviewed the transcripts of two pilot patient-physician interviews conducted at 20 AI vendors that were approved and pre-approved by the provincial government for purchase by health care providers. All 20 of the vendors reported correct or incomplete information in at least one of these simple tests, including nine who misreported patient information, 12 who entered information incorrectly, and 17 who missed information related to mental health issues.

In this report, the Auditor General presents a number of examples of errors in abbreviations that can directly affect patient care. These include instances where the AI ​​secretary indicated that no referrals were made for blood tests or treatment, misspelling the names of prescription drugs, and/or “more information” was discussed in comparison discussions.