AI-SAFE-GP Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The AI-SAFE-GP study: Evaluating Artificial Intelligence (AI) to SAFEly improve General Practitioner (GP) documentation and communication in complex consultations.
IRAS ID
359605
Contact name
Peter Edwards
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bristol
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Background
In 2023, GPs in England carried out 160 million appointments. After each one, the GP writes a summary in the patient’s medical record. These summaries are important, but they’re often rushed, missing key details, or contain mistakes.
New computer tools called “AI-scribes” can write these summaries automatically. Companies say they save time and improve quality, but these tools haven’t been properly tested by independent UK researchers.AI might also help GPs give better advice to patients about when to seek more help, called “safety-netting advice”. This advice is meant to help patients know what to look out for, but it only happens in about two out of three consultations. It’s rarely written down, even though patients prefer clear, written instructions.
Aim
We want to find out if AI can safely improve GP summaries and written advice using real and actor-based consultations.What we’ll do
1. Testing AI in GP consultations
Ten GPs will each take part in six realistic consultations with actors playing patients. We’ll compare how long it takes them to write notes themselves versus editing AI-made notes. We’ll also ask them what they think about using AI.2. Checking the quality of summaries
We’ll compare what the GP and AI wrote down with what was actually said. We’ll do this for both the actor consultations and 92 real recorded GP telephone consultations collected in a previous study.3. Improving written advice
We’ll work with patients to design a safety-netting advice form, then test how well AI can fill it in based on what was said in consultations.Patient involvement
Patients helped design this study. A group of 8–10 patients will continue to support and advise us throughout the project.Sharing what we learn
We’ll share our findings through short videos, social media, talks, and journal articles.REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SW/0108
Date of REC Opinion
19 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion