Checking an AI-drafted report against the audio

Why check against the audio

AI tools can produce text that was never said. They can also drop or soften things that were. A draft that reads well is not the same as a draft that is right. The person who signs a medico-legal report is answerable for every sentence in it, so the only reliable check is to listen to the original recording alongside the text.

You do not need to be a specialist to use these checks. They are the same ones a validation listener works through.

The ten checks

1. Listen to the whole recording. Do not check only the passages that look doubtful. Errors are often in text that reads smoothly.
2. Identifiers and dates. Check the name, reference, date of birth, date of examination and any other dates against what was said.
3. Laterality. Check every mention of left and right as well as side-specific terms such as upper, lower, medial and lateral.
4. Numbers and units. Check doses, measurements, durations, scores and amounts. Look for digits that sound alike, such as 15 and 50.
5. Negatives. Check every no, not, without and none. A missed negative reverses the meaning of a sentence.
6. Medical terms and drug names. Check similar-sounding terms, drug names and abbreviations against the recording and the clinical context.
7. Who said what. In consultations and joint meetings, check that each statement is attributed to the right speaker.
8. Added or missing content. Look for sentences that were never said and for anything that was said but has been dropped.
9. Structure and personal style preferences. Check headings, section order, template, preferred spellings and abbreviations.
10. Final read and sign-off. Read the corrected report once more from start to finish and keep a record of what you checked.

Our articles on human or AI accuracy and the medical terms that are easy to get wrong give examples of why checks 4 to 6 matter.

Get the printable checklist

A two-page checklist with tick boxes and a record of checks to file with each report. Enter your details and you will be taken straight to the download.

If you want a second pair of ears

Our AI report validation service does these checks for you. A human listener works through the recording against your draft and returns it with corrections marked.

Related services

• AI report validation: your report checked against the original audio
• AI report review: read, formatted and proofread
• Medico-legal transcription: your dictation typed by UK-based transcribers