NHS clinicians may soon spend more time with patients and less time typing up notes, thanks to a new wave of AI notetaking tools.
These advanced systems listen to consultations and automatically generate clinical summaries, promising to streamline documentation and make appointments more efficient.
By reducing the administrative burden, doctors and nurses could focus on what matters most – providing high-quality care.
NHS England has published a new self-certified registry featuring 19 approved suppliers of ambient voice technologies – tools that capture clinician-patient conversations and generate real-time transcriptions and clinical summaries.
The registry ensures that suppliers meet strict standards for clinical safety, technological performance, and data protection.
NHS organisations across England are now being encouraged to explore these AI-powered solutions to streamline consultations and enhance patient care.
This is the latest in a series of AI technologies being implemented by the health service, which recently announced an AI-powered tool to expedite prostate cancer diagnosis.
How AI notetaking works in practice
AI notetaking technology, often referred to as AI scribing, automatically transcribes appointments and produces summarised clinical notes for clinicians to review.
By reducing the administrative burden of manual documentation, these tools allow doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to focus more on direct patient interaction.
On average, AI notetaking can save clinicians 2–3 minutes per consultation. While this may seem modest, it adds up across a full schedule, freeing up valuable time to see more patients or provide more personalised care during each appointment.
Dr Alec Price-Forbes, NHS England National Chief Clinical Information Officer, believes embracing AI will transform the health service: “The AI revolution is here, and we want to arm our NHS staff with the latest technology, which has the potential to transform the quality, safety and experience of care patients receive, as well as improving efficiency.
“AI notetaking tools will help free up more time for clinicians to focus on their patients, rather than typing up notes or looking at a screen – enhancing the quality of consultations and improving overall patient satisfaction.
“We are working with NHS organisations to help them implement the technology safely and effectively – helping to make the NHS the most AI-enabled healthcare system in the world, as we shift from analogue to digital.”
Evidence from NHS pilot studies
A major NHS England-sponsored study conducted last year evaluated AI-scribing tools across nine NHS sites in London.
Led by the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust’s Innovation Unit (GOSH DRIVE), the research analysed over 17,000 patient encounters across hospitals, GP practices, mental health services, and ambulance teams.
The results were striking. Clinicians using AI notetaking experienced a 23.5% increase in direct patient interaction time and an 8.2% reduction in overall appointment length.
Accident and emergency departments saw particularly strong gains, with a 13.4% rise in the number of patients seen per shift.
National rollout could unlock efficiency and savings
The NHS study highlights the potential for AI notetaking tools to reduce clinician workload while improving patient care.
Widespread adoption could also unlock significant cost savings by increasing appointment efficiency and enabling staff to manage higher patient volumes.
With the registry now live, NHS organisations have a clear framework to implement safe, evidence-based AI notetaking solutions.
As these tools become more widely used, clinicians may finally reclaim valuable consultation time, allowing them to focus on what matters most: patient care.
