The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has launched an investigation into the use of ambient voice technology (AVT) in hospitals, following engagement with stakeholders including representatives from national bodies that highlighted potential safety issues.
“Intelligence gathered found that adoption of AVT is accelerating while the safety implications are not fully understood,” HSSIB details. “National literature and implementation activity has focused more strongly on efficiency benefits than on patient safety risk. There are also indications that routes for recognising and reporting AI-related incidents are not yet mature enough to provide confidence that emerging risks are being identified.”
The investigation looks to explore the ways in which the use of AVT has contributed, or may contribute to, patient harm, along with the wider patient safety risks of its use, and how accountability for AVT safety is understood on a local and national level. According to HSSIB, it will use a specific analysis framework developed for generic AI systems to make its assessment.
HSSIB is also calling for input from anyone with an interest in this topic, inviting views and feedback from patients, families, and health and care professionals who may want to share their experience. Interested parties are asked to get in touch by email, to investigations@hssib.org.uk.
Findings are expected to be published in an investigation report in Summer 2027.
Earlier this month, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency published guidance to clarify how the medical devices regulations apply to ambient voice technology in health and care. MHRA notes that some AVT solutions qualify as a medical device and confirms some “AVT products that are intended solely for transcription, summarising of clinical conversations, drafting letters, or suggesting clinical codes for a clinician to review are not regulated as medical devices under the current framework”. The body goes on to recommend that “users of such AVT products should carefully consider what information and practices are needed to ensure safe deployment”.
Wider trend: Ambient voice technology
HTN was joined by a panel of experts from across the health sector for a focused webinar on the use of ambient scribe technology in NHS trusts. Panellists included Lauren Riddle, transformation programme manager at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare (HIoW); Ynez Symonds, CNIO at HIoW; Dom Pimenta, co-founder and CEO at Tortus AI; and Stuart Kyle, consultant rheumatologist and clinical lead for outpatient transformation at Royal Devon University Hospital. Our panel discussed the practicalities and considerations for ambient scribe implementations, from operating procedures and policies, integration and functionality, through to best practices around patient-practitioner interactions.
NHS England’s Transformation Directorate has published a list of 19 suppliers who have evidenced the criteria required to be part of its self-certified Ambient Voice Technology registry – “a national capability to support safe and effective scaling and adoption of AVT across the health and care system”. The 19 suppliers include 33n, Accurx, Anathem, Aprobrium (Lexacom), Beam Up, Corti, Dictate IT, eConsult, HealthOrbit AI, Heidi Health, Lyrebird Health, Microsoft Dragon, Optum (EMIS), Pungo t/a Joy, Scribetech, Tandem, Tortus, T-Pro, and X-On Health.
NHS Midlands has completed an at-scale procurement of Heidi’s ambient voice technology (AVT) solution to cover all 1,239 GP practices and 15 acute and community trusts in the region. The region-wide procurement, led by The Dudley Group and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals, will support all GPs to access the technology without needing to undertake a separate local process. Heidi, the selected supplier, is one of 23 suppliers listed on NHSE’s self-certified AVT registry, which was first published back in January.
