Insights
Human or AI? Why accuracy matters
AI tools can be a useful first draft. In medico-legal work the draft still needs a careful check and the time that takes is easy to underestimate.
Where AI helps and where it struggles
Speech recognition and AI scribes work best on clear audio with one speaker and plain language. Medico-legal recordings are often less forgiving.
Invented content
Investigations reported in 2024, including by the Associated Press, found that some AI transcription tools sometimes produced text that was never spoken. The output looked natural, so the errors were not obvious. In a signed report an invented medication or finding is a serious problem.
Templates and structure
Consultants often dictate to a template covering history, examination, opinion and conclusions. AI tools tend to misplace content when the speaker does not say which section a statement belongs to. An experienced transcriber places it where it belongs and keeps your personal style preferences.
Accents and audio quality
Regional accents, background noise and overlapping speech all reduce accuracy. A phrase misheard as something similar can change the meaning of a sentence without breaking its grammar.
More than one speaker
Meetings with experts, solicitors or the patient are harder still. A tool may attribute a statement to the wrong person or merge two sentences. Getting this right matters when the report records who said what.
The hidden cost of checking
If every AI draft needs a thorough check, the time saved can disappear. Reviewing a report that has already been proofread and checked against the audio is much faster than finding the problems yourself.
Four questions to ask yourself
- Can I afford any error in this report?
- Am I comfortable with a machine handling this information?
- How much review time am I willing to spend on every draft?
- Could a mistake damage my reputation or my client's trust?
You do not have to choose between human and AI. Many of our clients use an AI scribe for the first draft and ask us to review it, or to validate it against the audio before they sign.
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
See how it works with 10 minutes free
Send a short dictation or an AI-drafted report and judge the result for yourself.