Latest news with #medicalpractice
Medscape
3 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
GPs Voice Top 10 AI Concerns
A review of queries received by the Medical Protection Society (MPS) last year has highlighted the top concerns of GPs about the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical practice. The MPS told Medscape News UK that all AI-themed queries came from GPs. No questions were raised by secondary care doctors. Key Concerns Identified The assessment revealed 10 main areas of concern for GPs: Patient safety Data protection Patient consent Liability Indemnity Transcribing tools Generation of fit notes Clinical prompts Processing of laboratory results Generative AI GPs Wary of AI Risks Medicolegal advice on these themes has been published on the MPS website. "We know members are keen to explore and adopt AI tools, which may enhance patient care and help to facilitate more efficient working," Dr Ben White, MPS deputy medical director, said in a press release. However, calls to the medicolegal advice line showed members were wary of potential risks. Particular concerns included liability and defence society cover, safety for patients, data protection, and patient consent. Such concerns echo a survey by Medscape last year which found that one in five respondents were apprehensive about using AI in clinical practice. More specific advice was sought on the medicolegal implications of using AI software for transcribing patient consultations, generating fit-to-fly letters or fit notes, using clinical prompts, and processing laboratory results. "AI is of course fast-evolving, and we will continue to revisit the guidance," White said. The MPS Foundation has contributed to a white paper on AI in healthcare , aimed at ensuring AI tools are developed and integrated to be usable, useful, and safe for both patients and clinicians. "Bringing about greater confidence in AI among clinicians is vital if the potential benefits are to be unlocked," White said. Doctors Support AI But Remain Concerned Nell Thornton, improvement fellow at the Health Foundation, said the MPS findings echoed the foundation's own research. "If AI is to help fulfil its promise to improve patient care, further clarification is needed on issues like regulation and professional liability," she told Medscape News UK . Doctors are keen to ensure that the human dimension of care is protected in an increasingly digitised system, she added. "Addressing these issues will be crucial for ensuring the development and adoption of AI is responsible and works for everyone." Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, told Medscape News UK that the college was "always open to introducing new technologies that can improve the experience of patients – and GPs are often at the forefront of this". However, AI use is "not without potential risks" and its implementation "must be closely regulated to guarantee patient safety and the security of their data". "Technology will always need to work alongside and complement the work of doctors and other healthcare professionals, and it can never be seen as a replacement for the expertise of a qualified medical professional," Hawthorne emphasised. "Clearly there is big potential for the use of AI in general practice, but it's vital that it is carefully implemented and closely regulated in the interest of patient safety." Consultation Summaries Show Promise and Peril Dr Rosie Shire from the Doctors' Association UK GP committee told Medscape News UK : "As more AI tools become available, the possibilities of how they could assist GPs grows, but so do the concerns, as highlighted by the MPS." The idea of AI software providing a summary of a GP consultation was "very appealing", she said. It could enable GPs to focus fully on the patient rather than taking notes, which could improve communication and patient satisfaction, and save time on recall and typing up notes. "However, it's vital software is accurate and reliable, able to distinguish who is speaking, and understands accents and dialects,' Shire stressed. 'Otherwise it could lead to increased workload, as GPs spend additional time checking the AI has performed correctly." AI Can't Replace 'Gut Feeling' There is potential for inaccuracies being introduced into patient records if clinicians become over-reliant on AI records of consultations, Shire said. In time-pressured clinics, GPs might not read through AI summaries. "It's important clinicians are given time to review and confirm any AI-generated outcome to ensure accuracy. We also need to remember that AI can't replace that gut feeling you occasionally get as a GP when you see a patient you know, and feel that something just isn't right,' she added. Liability Questions Remain Shire said that a standard policy on AI use in general practice was needed. Clarity is also required over who would be responsible if AI software malfunctioned and led to patient harm. "Would it be the practice partners, as the data owners, the GP who saw the patient, or the AI software provider?" White said the MPS would not normally provide indemnity for issues relating to AI software failure. While the society is not currently aware of any binding case law, "we would expect the designers or producers of the AI software to be liable for any issues relating to the failure of the AI software'. Where a practice has purchased an AI system, the individual GP using it would remain potentially liable for any harm that results from its use. "Doctors remain responsible for the decisions they make whilst using such technology,' he said. 'In order to mitigate the risk of a complaint or claim, doctors should assure themselves that any system they are using is fit for purpose and appropriate for the patients that they are seeing."
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctor in Dem-led city forced out of office by homeless encampment on the roof of her building
A well-respected doctor in Democrat-led California has been forced to abandon her practice after years of a persistent homeless encampment overtaking the building's roof. Dr. Tahani Soliman, owner of a Los Angeles County medical practice, has spent years battling a group of unhoused individuals who have turned her rooftop into their own personal space - terrorizing her staff, setting fires, and creating an unsafe work environment, KTLA News reported. Now, the West Coast physician is officially walking away from her practice, overwhelmed by frustration and a glaring lack of urgency from city officials. 'We are living in hell,' Soliman told the outlet. Located in a Huntington Park neighborhood, Soliman's family medicine practice sits next to a multi-level parking garage. However, the parking garage in question is notoriously a hotspot for the local homeless population - and alarmingly, it provides easy access to the rooftop of the doctor's office. For years, the self-employed doctor has endured the homeless encampment consistently taking over her building's roof - stealing electricity, stripping scrap metal from air conditioning units and even starting trash fires. Dr. Tahani Soliman (pictured), owner of a family medicine practice in Huntington Park, has spent years battling a group of unhoused individuals who have turned her rooftop into their own personal space - resulting in the loss of her sense of safety As recently as Tuesday, a fire broke out atop the parking structure, forcing crews from the Los Angeles Fire Department to rush in and extinguish the blaze. But this incident is far from isolated. It appears to simply be the breaking point in Soliman's long-running struggle. In 2023, a fire erupted in the same exact spot, during which firefighters informed the doctor and her staff for the first time that homeless people were living atop the parking garage. 'We ended up putting a fence with barbed wire,' employee Gaby Rodriguez told KTLA. 'They took that down.' 'We put cages around our AC units, and they took those down.' From that point on, clothes strewn across the roof, damaged equipment, discarded cans, vape devices and other debris have become a constant and struggling sight. Soliman shared that she estimates having spent more than $100,000 in repairs and deterrents like barbed wire and fencing - only to watch the homeless tear it down time and time again. The parking garage (pictured) next to Soliman's practice is notoriously a hotspot for the local homeless population - and alarmingly, it provides easy access to the rooftop of the doctor's office For years, clothes strewn across the roof, damaged equipment, discarded cans, vape devices (pictured) and other debris have become a constant and struggling sight 'They ruined my roof,' the doctor told KTLA. 'I have to put in a new roof and electricity from the air conditioning,' she added. 'I have to replace all of them.' Whenever Huntington Park police are alerted to the recurring incidents, they reportedly tell Soliman there's little they can do to resolve the problem. Adding to her frustration, every call Soliman has made to city officials has gone unanswered, leaving her feeling abandoned as her business continues to be overrun. 'No protection for my employees, for my patients or my tenants,' Soliman told KTLA. 'That's why I'm going to retire, because of this, I lost everything.' The encampment, which has been a source of escalating tension and safety concerns, has raised serious questions about the city's handling of homelessness. Critics of California's shelter system have dubbed it the 'homeless industrial complex', but Sergio Perez, who was until recently a Los Angeles city accountability chief, gave it another name in March. In Perez's words, it's a 'very expensive merry-go-round'. Soliman (pictured) shared that she estimates having spent more than $100,000 in repairs and deterrents like barbed wire and fencing - only to watch the homeless tear it down time and time again A recent study by CalMatters revealed the true scale of California's shelter system, which is bigger than was widely understood. Since 2018, the news site found, at least $1 billion of tax dollars has flowed to projects for the homeless. But these epic handouts solve nothing. Although the number of emergency beds has more than doubled from 27,000 to 61,000 in that time, there are still three times as many homeless people as there are shelter beds across the Golden State. Researchers lifted the lid on a mismanaged, graft-ridden enterprise - a gravy train of funders, officials, shelter owners and charities that perpetuates the homelessness crisis as it gobbles up more public money. However, the homeless themselves are the real victims, as they languish in moldy shelters where stabbings, sex crimes, harassment, and child abuse too often hurt their already-struggling occupants. The Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count registered as many as 6,672 people experiencing homelessness in Lancaster and its surrounding areas in 2024 alone. Earlier this year, Southern California mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster (pictured) sparked mass condemnation after revealing he'd give homeless residents 'all the fentanyl they want' in an effort to wipe them out Earlier this year, a Southern California mayor sparked mass condemnation after revealing he'd give homeless residents 'all the fentanyl they want' in an effort to wipe them out. Just a tiny, two milligrams dose of the drug is enough to kill a human. R. Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, made the remarks in front of stunned residents and councilmembers at a city council meeting. When asked about his vision to tackle the crisis, the 73-year-old Republican mayor did not mince his words. 'What I want to do is give them free fentanyl,' Parris said. 'I mean, that's what I want to do. I want to give them all the fentanyl they want.'
