{"id":1898,"date":"2026-06-18T15:26:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T05:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ruralhealth.org.au\/partyline\/?p=1898"},"modified":"2026-06-25T10:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T00:51:08","slug":"ai-helping-rural-gps-feel-less-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ruralhealth.org.au\/partyline\/ai-helping-rural-gps-feel-less-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"AI helping rural GPs feel less alone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The day-to-day life of a rural GP can be tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From paediatric care to responding to emergency situations, they do it all for their community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Wongan Hills Medical Centre\u2019s Dr Ajit Chaurasia, his life and the lives of patients 182 km north of Perth in Western Australia\u2019s Wheatbelt, have been made easier by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Chaurasia\u2019s tool of choice is Lyrebird Health, an AI scribe integrated into his system, helping with transcription, referrals and note-taking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2021 WA Rural Health Excellence Awards GP of the Year, Dr Chaurasia said the tool listens to appointments, with consent from patients, and provides insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt makes sure I\u2019m always running on time, as it helps write up my patient notes, which means I can quickly move on to my next patient,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said it can detect red flags raised by patients that he may miss and it can also distinguish between medical and non-medical topics discussed during an appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt makes sure you don\u2019t miss anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of its more impressive qualities, he said, is the ability to type out specialist referral letters while highlighting any relevant historical data within the GP\u2019s system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could be referring a patient to an ophthalmologist, and there could be data from 10 years ago when a patient had an eye injury. [It can] quickly incorporate that too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tool is not used by his first-year GP registrars, as Dr Chaurasia prefers they type their own notes and discuss with him if unsure about anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For registrars in their second year, they have restricted access and are only allowed to use notes, as Dr Chaurasia would still like them to learn how to type up referrals and gather data, while third-year registrars have full access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Chaurasia believed the tool has assisted in building trust between doctors and patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think most of them, they do get a feeling that \u2018my doctor is keeping himself up to date\u2019 and then \u2018I trust this doctor\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March, <\/strong>medical students took part in the Wheatbelt Medical Student Immersion Program (WMSIP) coordinated by Rural Health West in partnership with Curtin University and The University of Notre Dame Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students were immersed in the life of rural medicine, and while attending Wongan Hills Medical Centre, they came face to face with Lyrebird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of them were quite receptive about it,\u201d Dr Chaurasia said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were pretty happy about it, how AI can make so much difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One student, who was quite intrigued by Lyrebird, asked if it makes life as a rural GP less isolating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt does,\u201d Dr Chaurasia said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt may not be a real person, I know it’s an AI, but I do feel like there is a companion to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He believed it provided reassurance to the students that help will be there and eased the fear factor that may come with becoming a rural GP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are not going to feel that isolated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey can work with this AI, which is not a human being, but it still gives you a feeling that you are with someone, and there is someone who is helping you, rather than feeling isolated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Chaurasia believed \u201ceverybody,\u201d particularly those living in rural areas, could benefit from the tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a rural doctor, I know the time constraint we are always working on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNearly 20 per cent of patients turn up on the day \u2026 so we get a lot of walk-ins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Lyrebird, it saves the time for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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