A new pilot at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is evaluating how ambient voice technology (AVT) could support clinicians working in busy emergency departments by helping to reduce administrative burden and improve patient care.
The initiative is supported by the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) Sustainable Innovation in Exeter, which is helping evaluate the technology and generate evidence about its impact in real-world NHS settings.
Evaluating AI tools in urgent and emergency care
Ambient voice technology uses artificial intelligence to convert conversations between clinicians and patients into structured medical notes and clinic letters. The system captures spoken dialogue during consultations and produces draft documentation for clinicians to review and approve.
The Royal Devon pilot will run for 12 months and will assess how the technology performs in high-pressure environments. Researchers will examine whether AVT can:
- Reduce time spent on clinical documentation
- Improve communication between hospital and primary care teams
- Support patient flow and efficiency in urgent care settings
- Maintain safety and quality of clinical records
Emergency departments were chosen for the study because of their fast-paced nature and heavy documentation requirements. The evaluation will help determine whether the technology could be adopted more widely across the NHS.
Early results from outpatient use
The Royal Devon has already introduced ambient voice technology in outpatient services, where it has supported over 2,500 outpatient consultations. Clinicians report improved documentation accuracy and more time to focus on patients, while patient feedback has been positive.
If fully rolled out across services, the technology could enable the Trust to deliver thousands of additional appointments each year by reducing the time clinicians spend writing notes and letters.
Findings from the pilot will contribute to this wider evidence base and could help inform national guidance on the use of AI-powered documentation tools in healthcare.
Role of the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Exeter
The evaluation is being conducted in partnership with the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Sustainable Innovation, hosted by the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Exeter.
The centre brings together clinicians, researchers and industry partners to develop and evaluate new medical technologies, diagnostics and digital tools that could improve patient care and support NHS services.
By generating robust evidence about how emerging technologies perform in real clinical settings, the HRC helps ensure that innovations adopted by the NHS are safe, effective and deliver genuine benefits for patients and staff.
Part of the national NIHR HealthTech Research Centre Network
The Exeter-based HRC is one of our 14 NIHR- funded centres of excellence across England, each focused on accelerating the development and adoption of innovative health technologies.
Supporting the future of NHS digital innovation
As artificial intelligence tools continue to evolve, careful evaluation is essential to understand how they can best support clinicians and improve patient care.
Through collaborations like this pilot, the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Exeter and our wider Network are helping ensure that innovative technologies are tested rigorously and implemented responsibly across the NHS.