What’s that supposed to mean?! The scrawling of some doctors often leaves patients and pharmacists at a loss. Google now wants to solve this problem with the help of AI.
What’s the name of the drug? When should I take it again? Is the next appointment on Monday or Wednesday? The writing of doctors sometimes causes us real problems in everyday life. And it probably also drives pharmacists, practice assistants or nurses to despair on a regular basis. But: Doctors are always under stress and have to treat many patients in the shortest possible time – so it is understandable that there is no peace and quiet to unpack the calligraphy.
Google wants to take on this problem now. At its developer conference in India, the tech company announced that it wanted to work with pharmacists on an app that would use artificial intelligence to convert the medical “claw” into – so it is said – “commonly understood signs”. This could potentially make life much easier for employees in the medical industry as well as for patients.
Google wants to digitally decipher medical writing
A first prototype is already running on Google Lens. Users can simply take photos of their prescriptions or handwritten doctor’s information, or upload them from their photo library to the app, the respective image is then processed digitally and the app highlights all important drug names, among other things. “This will serve as an enabling technology for the digitization of handwritten medical documents,” the company said. However, users should not make medical decisions based solely on the app “translation”, but should always consult with experts beforehand.
The app worked perfectly during the first demonstrations at the developer conference in India, but it will still take some time before it is really ready for the market. Google does not want to announce a specific release date yet.
Which: “Standard”
