Authors (including presenting author) :
Ho HS (1), Wo SY (1), Kwok YK (1), Ng MSN (2), Chow CC (1), Lai WS (1), Lam YF (1), Ng ML (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Medicine, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital
(2) The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Introduction :
The shortage of nurses coupled with the increasing demand for quality patient care is a persistent challenge. Traditionally, we have spent significant time ranging from 5 to 10 minutes per patient to gather clinical information in renal nurse clinic. It is labor-intensive, time-consuming and repetitive tasks. The manual data collection methods not only strain the limited nursing manpower but also impede the ability to provide timely and comprehensive care to patients. The technological advancement has offered a promising solution to streamline healthcare process especially in gathering essential patient’s health data. We have piloted implementing this new technology in renal nurse clinic to enhance efficiency in collecting patient health information.
Objectives :
To evaluate the efficiency of applying conversational AI technology in collecting patient clinical information prior renal nursing consultation.
Methodology :
From January to December 2024, a tablet with Conversational AI with voice recognition and text inputs was implemented in the renal nurse clinic of PYNEH to collect renal patient health information. These include:
1. A tablet with Wi-Fi is given to patient for data collection while waiting for renal nursing consultation.
2. Choice of languages offered to fit the patient need.
3. Real time data retrieval for patient documentation is achieved by exportation to designated email account.
4. Patient satisfactory survey via QR code is given to patient.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 109 patients were recruited to use conversational AI from January to December 2024. The mean accuracy rate of reporting patient health information was 96.6±3.0% (range: 85%‒100%). Among the 78 patients completed the survey, their mean satisfaction scores for various aspects of AI ranged from 8.10±2.28 to 8.56±1.71 (out of 10). Over 92% of patients generally satisfied with AI in collecting their health information. All nurses were satisfied with using a new device and downloading patient report via email for documentation. They found the system was useful in data collection and reducing their time for documentation by 25%‒28%. The data transcription errors were minimized.
In conclusion, the Conversational AI technology with structured and standardized format streamlines the demographic data collection process and subsequent management plan. Nurses can spend more time on critical aspects of patient care. Also, patient’s waiting time for nursing consultation was shortened. The enhanced efficiency greatly improved the quality of patient care and shaped the future of healthcare data collection.
