Echo-Health has integrated its AI-powered scribe and patient communication technology directly into Medtech Evolution’s practice management software (PMS), creating a seamless clinical workflow that processes consultation data in real-time.
The integration, which went live in May 2025, allows clinicians to act directly within their workflow. Along with AI scribe functionality, clinicians can create letters, referrals and updates without leaving their existing Medtech Evolution environment.
The system listens to consultations with ambient speech recognition, analysing patient literacy, emotions and sentiment, and automatically produces personalised notes with pre-filled templates to update patient records.
The patient experience is enhanced by sending reminders, booking links, plain language summaries, and educational materials to patients via SMS post-consultation.
Echo-Health is also developing a mobile version that allows clinicians to use the AI scribe functionality from their phones, all while maintaining the seamless clinical workflow directly into Medtech Evolution.
The power of integration
Cecilia Harris, founder and chief executive of Echo-Health, says the company is focused on three key components when looking at AI.
“We are very focused on the patient, we are very focused on the clinicians, and we are also focused on interoperability,” she says.
“We are different to competitors because we believe integration is absolutely critical to the long term workflow and integration of AI technology.
“So we looked for a partner that believed in the same thing, and Medtech, with their ALEX® platform, have all the existing infrastructure to make it very straightforward.”
Harris says that with Medtech being the leading PMS provider in New Zealand it was a “no brainer” to partner with them, and it has worked perfectly.
Integration using the Medtech ALEX® API means that unlike standalone scribe solutions that require copying and pasting information between systems, Echo-Health automatically places clinical content in the relevant sections of the patient record.
The system updates observations directly into Medtech Evolution’s screenings section and an upcoming integration with SR Referrals will automatically populate referral information.
Alex Cauble-Chantrenne, Medtech programme manager (Integrations) says ALEX® enables rapid development and deployment of these types of integrations without partners having to wait for practice management software release schedules.
This allows innovative companies like Echo-Health to develop and release new features themselves, while maintaining security and workflow integration standards.
Protecting patient information
Echo-Health processes all data in real-time without transferring patient information to external servers.
Patient identifiable information never enters its system, with the company pulling details like patient names and NHI numbers directly from the practice management software when formatting documents.
Harris says, “we do not take that information, we do not hold that information, so we do not pass that information back through the LLM in any way, shape or form.”
This approach addresses potential concerns about AI tools accessing patient data as the scribe strips any identifying information before processing, ensuring patient privacy remains protected, she says.
Lawrence Peterson, Medtech general manager integration and infrastructure, says patient data stays in the PMS where it belongs, rather than being spread out around the cloud.
“In-line processing means the only time the patient data is accessed is during the consultation and should a later ‘follow-up’ piece of work be required, such as checking for results, this can be performed later also as an inline request,” he says.
A user perspective
Bream Bay Medical Centre and Tui Medical are already using the integrated scribe, along with several other New Zealand practices.
Kay Brittenden, Bream Bay practice manager, says the security provided by an integrated AI scribe was the key factor for her when looking at options.
The medical centre, which looks after 9,500 patients with a team of 38 including 13 doctors, started using Echo-Health in June 2025.
“Security was the big concern for me and we always get the patient’s consent,” she says.
“It is saving the doctors a lot of time and they are capturing more information from the consult, which is really the main benefit.”
One doctor was surprised at how quickly she has adopted the technology into her day-to-day work, as she previously did not think she would ever use it, Brittenden explains.
Nurses are now also trialling the scribe and clinical staff are working with Echo-health to customise templates to meet their particular needs.
The future
Harris says future developments for Echo-Health include linking with clinical prescription databases to provide drug interaction alerts and allergy warnings.
“We are in conversation whereby we are linking in with a well-known clinical provider of prescription information that can bring up prompts on drug and allergy alerts, and drug on drug interactions,” she says.
“We are focused on everything being done in a clinically safe way.”
The system can also access existing patient information to provide prompts during consultations. This capability could alert doctors to missed screenings, overdue check-ups, or relevant medical history that may inform their treatment decisions.
The use of SNOMED coding means that in the future the system could also validate information by checking with another system.
“It is a very exciting future of what we can do within that space,” says Harris.
Watch the webinar Medtech ALEX® & Echo-Health – See SR Referrals Integration & Mobile Access in Action
If you have any questions re the above feature article, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.