A new AI tool that could slash GP wait times could be coming to a doctors' office near you, but is it just a more powerful version of 'Dr Google'?
Not quite, according to Dr Michael Wright, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
Australian GPs have been relying on search engines to stay across the latest medical information for years and clinical AI platforms are just the latest tools in their arsenal.
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"GPs, like everyone else, are really having a close look at AI and trying to work out where it can help us be more efficient, get better information and provide better care," he told nine.com.au.
"But it's certainly not something that anyone should feel like is being forced upon them."
Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at mleach@nine.com.au
About 40 per cent of Aussie GPs are already using AI scribe tools to streamline consultations and thousands will soon have access to new AI platform MedLuma.
GP Dr Stephen Barnett, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong, co-founded the AI tool he says will help GPs access the latest medical information quickly and easily.
It pulls from Australian clinical guidelines, peer-reviewed evidence, RACGP-approved content and relevant international literature to respond to GP queries.
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"Some of my doctors in my practice, they've got nine or 10 tabs open trying to search across a whole bunch of different sites, medical guidelines and articles," Barnett told nine.com.au.
"But if you can synthesize those quickly, that helps."
And with a million new articles published in the medical literature every year, it's become impossible for GPs to stay up to date on their own.
MedLuma is set to be rolled out to about 40,000 GP desktops in August, with a broader rollout to follow.
Barnett hopes it will help overworked GPs by speeding up searches and streamlining patient consults.
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Some patients are already using general AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to answer medical queries (with varying success).
But not all Aussies are on board with bringing AI into their medical appointments.
Some are vehemently anti-AI, citing data privacy and environmental concerns.
They have reason to be cautious, especially given how often AI tools hallucinate and confidently spit out false information.
MedLuma says it has human clinical validators to check its information and built-in programs to protect patients' data privacy, but not all AI tools are suitable for clinical use.
Wright said patients can speak to their GP or practice manager if they have any concerns about AI use in their appointments.
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But he also said clinical AI tools like MedLuma will only become more common.
The RACGP, Australian Digital Health Agency and medical insurers are all in the process of developing guidelines to govern how GPs use these AI tools.
"What we really want to make sure is that we use these tools, but we do so safely and with patient care at the centre of it," Wright said.
How the general public will respond to an uptick in AI use at their local medical practice is still to be seen.
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