Healthcare regulators in England have raised concerns about the reliability of artificial intelligence transcription systems being deployed across the National Health Service to document patient consultations. Healthwatch England, the statutory patient advocacy organization, has documented multiple instances in which AI scribes have produced inaccurate records of medical conversations, including incorrect drug names, misidentified diagnoses, and omitted clinical instructions.
In one notable case, an AI system incorrectly recorded that a patient had demyelination, a serious neurological condition associated with multiple sclerosis, when the actual finding was the absence of demyelination. The error was discovered only when the patient, who works in healthcare, questioned the system’s summary. In another instance, an AI scribe confused a prescribed medication with a similarly named alternative drug. A third case involved an AI-generated letter that failed to document a consultant’s instruction for the patient to request a repeat prescription from their general practitioner for migraine treatment.
Healthwatch noted that patients have frequently identified these errors rather than healthcare providers, raising questions about what mistakes might persist undetected in medical records. The regulatory landscape for these tools remains unclear; the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has declined to classify AI scribes as medical devices, meaning there is no England-wide oversight mechanism to ensure their safety and effectiveness. Currently, 27 different AI scribing systems are in use across English general practices and hospitals.
Medical professionals have expressed concerns about the technology’s limitations. Research by Dr. Charlotte Blease at Uppsala University found that errors are more common in consultations involving multiple participants, patients with complex medical histories, and those whose first language is not English. Additionally, doctors have reported instances of AI “hallucinations,” where systems reference medications or discussions that did not occur during the consultation.
Despite these concerns, the government’s long-term health strategy envisions AI scribes as central to reducing administrative burdens on clinicians and transitioning the NHS toward digital-based operations. However, skepticism persists about whether the time required for doctors to review transcripts for accuracy will actually result in time savings or allow for the increased patient volume some administrators anticipate.
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