AI in health care: what Australian GPs should know before they adopt

Whether you’re an early adopter or a resolute sceptic, AI in healthcare is here to stay – and it’s rapidly infiltrating general practice. Four in 10 GPs are using an AI scribe, a Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) poll found, and they’re just one type of AI workflow integration. This guide explores AI healthcare tools GPs can use now, what the evidence supports, and what to have in place first.

AI for business administration

If you’re new to AI in general practice, you might want to start with an administrative rather than a clinical tool, says Dr Brent Richards, Adjunct Professor of Research at Griffith University and board member of the Queensland AI Consortium, an initiative focused on advancing statewide AI adoption and capability. 

“Running a general practice is just like running any other business aside from the clinical aspect,” Dr Richards told InSight+.

Rather than asking where to introduce a tool, he suggests considering what you’d get a business intern to do.

“Look at your back office. What repetitive tasks could you automate? You can potentially find a tool that does it for you immediately. Start with your pain points and move on from there.”

For example, AI assistants in existing office software (eg, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini) can help you compose emails and summarise threads. Large language models like Claude and ChatGPT can summarise documents and help you get past “blank page syndrome” with report writing.

AI-enhanced tools that read data sets can help you manage business finances.

“You can also upload a spreadsheet into a large language model and ask it questions. You can get graphs to see where your profits and losses are; what you're making money on and what you're not making money on,” Dr Richards said.

As with all AI, it can make mistakes, so make sure your business manager and/or accountant checks any findings AI makes.

AI scribe and documentation tools

An AI scribe (AKA ambient scribe, digital scribe or virtual scribe) uses voice recognition and natural language processing technology to listen to your discussions with patients and convert them into clinical notes. 

An AI documentation tool may help alleviate administrative burden. Anja Nikolic, CEO of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health — the peak body representing the region’s digital health leaders and practitioners — says this is the biggest benefit of AI in general practice at present. 

“We’re all aware of the rates of burnout amongst GPs, and the workforce pressures that exist,” Ms Nikolic told InSight+.

“Most notably, AI scribes do a very good job of turning a conversation between the GP and their patient into patient notes.” 

In one study, self-reported burnout rates dropped from 52% to 39% after clinicians used an ambient scribe for 30 days. Compared with baseline, participants experienced reduced note-related cognitive load and spent less time documenting after hours. 

Similarly, in a study involving almost 1 000 physicians who’d used an AI scribe in 100 or more patient encounters, participants said it facilitated more effective and personal patient interactions while reducing after-hours admin. 

However, it’s important to be mindful of how patients feel about the use of AI scribes too. Another study found whilst patients liked the idea of shorter wait times, they raised concerns around accuracy, reliability and security of private data.

AI governance and ethics

Before implementing an AI documentation tool, there are some key medicolegal issues to note.

Ambient scribes that simply capture and translate talk into text do not generally require an ARTG listing. However, if a scribe examines or interprets clinical discussions (eg by offering differential diagnoses or treatment recommendations you did not suggest), it falls into the AI medical device category and must be registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

It’s a criminal offence to record a consultation without consent in most Australian states and territories (Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory have partial exceptions). 

To avoid a breach, you must obtain explicit, informed consent from all parties in the consultation — including any medical students, trainees, or family members as well as the patient — before activating an ambient scribe. 

You also need to evaluate whether the solution complies with Privacy Act healthcare obligations and ensure health information is de-identified. Removing the patient’s name and date of birth from recordings or transcripts may not be enough if they can be otherwise recognised.

Artificial intelligence in medicine is constantly evolving, and Ms Nikolic notes mistakes can still happen.

“All AI tools can be prone to hallucinations, incorrect interpretations of data and errors. The important thing is that there is always a ‘human in the loop’ to pick up on these.”

The RACGP recommends getting advice from your Medical Defence Organisation or a lawyer to ensure you’re complying with relevant laws for using AI scribes.

Billing and MBS optimisation tools

Some medical software solutions listen to consults and suggest Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers to bill, including co-claimable items, chronic disease management codes, or telemedicine descriptors. By catching missed billing opportunities, tools like MediBetter and MBSPro may help optimise your earnings.

You remain responsible for billings under your provider number, so it’s essential to evaluate the AI’s suggestions, only claim clinically relevant items, and ensure your records accurately reflect MBS descriptors.

Using AI to search the academic literature

The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) have created with other partners an LLM trained on medical literature. ‘Open Evidence’ calls itself an AI copilot for doctors. Like all AI models it can misinterpret research or hallucinate, but it has been described as a “valuable but evolving tool” in this article by doctors and medical students in the US.

Clinical decision support and diagnostics

Machine learning in healthcare is also incorporated in specialised tools that help clinicians make clinical choices. These solutions typically use pattern recognition and predictive analytics to detect anomalies and clarify diagnoses.

For example, AI diagnostic imaging software can evaluate skin lesions during skin checks. Other AI models can analyse chest X-rays and brain CT scans. Australian research has shown AI can detect breast cancer in screening mammograms, helping stratify risk.

Currently, these models are mainly used by specialists, but “In the future, we foresee that diagnostic and decision-support tools will help GPs with clinical practice,” Ms Nikolic said.

Clinicians need to be aware of AI bias, she adds, including potential algorithmic bias introduced in model training. “If the data is not representative of the GP’s patient cohort, the tool that relies on it will not be optimal.”

AI in healthcare: Pre-adoption checklist 

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) stresses that robust clinical governance helps ensure digital health solutions function as intended, reducing risk of harm and supporting good outcomes. 

• Verify TGA status: If the tool provides diagnostic or treatment advice, check that it’s included on the ARTG.
• Confirm data sovereignty: Review the vendor’s terms of service. Ensure patient data is encrypted end-to-end, stored within Australia, and not used for external model training.
• Establish consent protocols: Develop a script for obtaining explicit patient consent. Ensure staff know to document consent within the patient file.
• Draft an AI policy: Create a formal document detailing permitted software, mandatory note-checking procedures, and data breach protocols.
• Train the team: Ensure all clinical and administrative staff understand boundaries for using AI software, emphasising that automated outputs must never be treated as final.

Ms Nikolic suggests GPs thinking about deploying AI ask themselves three things: “Am I educated and informed on AI use in general, and this tool more specifically? Do I have the right governance and risk management frameworks in place? Am I involving the patient in informed decision-making about the AI tool I am using for their care?”

Frequently asked questions

Who is legally responsible if an AI tool makes an error?

You are. Ahpra makes it clear the practitioner is personally and professionally accountable for all clinical decisions, findings, and medical records. 

Do I need explicit patient consent to use an AI scribe during a consultation?

Yes. You must obtain informed patient consent before using any tool that records, transcribes, or processes a patient’s personal or health information. 

Is it legal to use an AI scribe if I don't record the audio permanently?

Yes, but temporary processing still constitutes recording under Australian surveillance laws. You must obtain explicit consent from everyone in the room before activating the tool, regardless of whether the audio file is deleted immediately after text is generated.

Can I trust an AI scribe to suggest the correct Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item number?

While AI tools can suggest MBS item numbers, it is the treating practitioner’s responsibility to ensure any services billed to Medicare satisfy their requirements.

Disclaimer: The AI tools discussed in Insight+ may be inaccurate. They are not a substitute for professional or clinical expertise. Responsibility for patient care rests solely with the treating clinician. Content relating to AI scribes and Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items is for general information only and does not constitute billing or legal advice. Practices remain responsible for ensuring compliance with Medicare requirements and verifying the accuracy of all documentation and claims.