Key Takeaways

• Royal Devon is piloting ambient voice technology (AVT) in emergency departments to reduce clinician documentation.
• The project aims to enhance communication between hospital and primary care teams while maintaining safety and accuracy in patient records.
• Initial results indicate improved patient flow and feedback from both patients and clinicians, positioning the technology for potential wider NHS adoption.

Evaluation of Ambient Voice Technology in Emergency Care

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has launched a 12-month pilot program to evaluate the impact of ambient voice technology (AVT) in emergency departments. Supported by NHS England, the pilot began in January 2026 and aims to assess how AI-driven scribing tools can lessen documentation burdens on clinicians in urgent-care settings while enhancing communication with primary care teams.

Initially integrated into the Epic electronic patient record system in September 2025, the pilot is part of an expansive evaluation to gauge the system’s effectiveness. Professor Adrian Harris, chief medical officer for digital and research at Royal Devon, noted, “We’re already seeing the benefits that ambient voice technology can bring in outpatients. It could transform emergency and urgent care, allowing clinicians to focus on treating patients while ensuring that patient notes are accurate.”

The AVT system has already been utilized in over 2,700 outpatient consultations, receiving positive reviews from patients and feedback from clinicians who report enhanced accuracy in documentation and more time to devote to patient interactions. If the pilot proves successful, AVT could facilitate approximately 15,000 additional outpatient appointments annually at Royal Devon.

Conducted in collaboration with the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Sustainable Innovation and the University of Exeter, the pilot’s evaluation is critical to advancing quality care and meeting stringent assurance standards. Dr. Nick Kennedy, digital innovation and AI lead at the center, emphasized the importance of evaluation: “By building trusted evidence on what works for both patients and clinicians, we can support the adoption of digital tools that save time, improve communication, and deliver high-quality care to more patients.”

Emergency departments were specifically chosen for this pilot to illustrate how AVT can streamline clinician workflows and elevate patient safety in urgent scenarios. Findings from this initiative are expected to influence national healthcare policies and guide broader NHS implementation.

Dr. Steve Trowell, director of digital transformation for the NHS England Southwest region, remarked, “There is huge potential for AI scribes, when safely and reliably delivered, to improve the quality and experience of care for both staff and patients.” Royal Devon’s collaboration on this initiative is seen as a pivotal step towards understanding the future role of technology in healthcare delivery.

At the HETT Leadership Summit in February, Alec Price-Forbes, national chief clinical information officer for England, characterized AI scribing as “an enabler for us truly to reimagine healthcare.” In line with this, NHS England has introduced a national self-certified registry for AVT suppliers to assure compliance with safety, technology, and data protection standards. This initiative represents a significant move towards integrating advanced technology into everyday clinical practice, aiming to enhance the overall patient experience within the NHS.

The content above is a summary. For more details, see the source article.