Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust has awarded a contract to medical software company T-Pro for the procurement of their AI-powered voice solutions, supplying the trust with their digital dictation and speech recognition services.
The chosen solutions from T-Pro’s suite of products includes their mobile-first digital diction workflow platform and AI-powered speech technology. The £375k contract will take place for three years, ending in April 2028 and forms part of the trust’s wider digital strategy, which aims to “develop and deliver services that support both the clinical staff and the public in accessing our care”.
This procurement follows the trust’s recent acquisition of the digital health company, Health Call Solutions Limited, which will reportedly help to support appointment management, remote care and the handling of healthcare data. They also opened a tender notice back in March for the procurement of a digital dental management EPR system, valued at £100k.
AI and voice in healthcare: the wider trend
Last month, NHS England issued guidance on the use of AI-enabled ambient scribing products in health and care settings. The guidance aims to support business case development, risk assessments, governance, data protection impact assessments, and evaluation and monitoring. It covers a series of considerations, including product functionality, outputs for transcription and downstream tasks, as well as data and system considerations.
Accurx has partnered with Tandem Health, a European health tech company, to launch an AI scribe tool for use across the NHS. It supports transcribing, summarising and coding of patient consultations into the clinical record, with the ability to write back to EMIS and SystmOne. Plans are in place to roll out the solution to GP practices and in settings already using Accurx.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust published a prior information notice for up to four digital solutions for the implementation of voice recognition software. The four solutions will be split into three different lots, covering digital diction, speech recognition with generative AI and outsourced transcription.
