Medical Appointment Recording Apps

[MSFlea]

I ran across a blog that was about the Abridge app, and it sounded wonderful. It's an app that, with the doctor's permission, records your appointment, then AI transcribes the most important parts of your appointment (anything around medical words). It is HIPAA compliant because no person touches your record, it is all done with AI, and kept with you. You can send it to your email, or keep it on your phone. And you can always listen to the original recording if the transcription misses something. Nice.

It costs a subscription fee of 🤑$250 a month. Not so nice.

So, I am looking for other options. I know there are recording options that are not for medical intentions, but I'd prefer to keep it as secure as possible. Which means going with something that is intended for medical purposes, I think. I did look up if there was anything similar to Abridge that was free, and came up with Medcorder. Reading the description, it sounds rather the same. But who knows how well either of them work.

Do any of you use a recording app for your appointments? I have my new MS neurologist appointment coming up in September and really want to record it (I'm SO excited, I will tell you guys all about it afterwards!) so I don't forget anything. It's a long appointment, so I worry that notes won't be enough.

So, do you record your important appointments, and if so, what what do you use?

Thanks!🧡

[CatsandCars]

That's interesting! I never heard of medical recording apps.

If you don't need transcription, could you just record it on your phone (with the doc's permission, as you said) and then take notes from that? You might (possibly) be better at determining what's more important to you than AI. 😂

[MSFlea in reply to CatsandCars]

I think I could do without the AI determining what would need to be transcribed (and the outrageous 🤑) I mean, the AI sounds neat, but that, I think is all that it is, neat, but probably not actually very useful. 😉I ran it past hubby just a little while ago (computers are his thing) and he said very close to the same thing.

I think you are right, that any recording device would be good, as long as I can pause it during the playback so that I can take notes afterwards. 🧡

[CatsandCars in reply to MSFlea]

I think that you're absolutely on the right track, though. When I had a big specialist appointment last year, the neurologist greeted me by me by mentioning my lesion load and saying something like "Nothing like the lesion you had in 2017, though." I could not remember being told I even had a lesion! It took a few days to kind of dimly remember something vague about it. I realized that's probably why I was switched from Avonex to Gilenya.

I think I remember my doctor appointments, but how do you know what you've forgotten? 😅

[MSFlea in reply to CatsandCars]

I bet that greeting, without remembering the lesion, was like a blow. Nothing like casually hearing awful medical news. 🫣🧡

If it weren't for my hubby going to neurology appointments with me, I wouldn't 'remember' much 😅🤣 I am glad I stumbled across the blog about the recording app, even though that particular one is... not for me 😬I would say I don't know why I hadn't thought of recording the appointments before, but 😅😜🧡

[CatsandCars in reply to MSFlea]

Yeah, it was. I vaguely remember my doctor before last saying I had a lesion, and asking about it, bit he was deeply absorbed in something on the computer. Then I suspect the conversation may have turned to changing medications-squirrel! 😅I wasn't feeling any worse at the time, either. And might have thought since he didn't explain more that it wasn't anything to be concerned about? I may have thought that it might help with my normal-but-awful fatigue, etc. But it bothers me, because I'm usually pretty on top of my medical stuff. I have to make sure I read every MRI report from now on.

A similar, but worse thing happened after I saw my new neuro for the first time, and looked at the notes afterward. It said my "herald symptoms" were "transverse myelitis" and a large lesion on my spinal cord (that one is very old, and I knew about that one). But so many people see my MRIs. The radiologist, my old neuro should have been looking at it, my pain doctor, the prominent MS specialist at the university...so it freaked me out to see this when nobody else said anything about it. I even got copies of all my old MRI reports and there was no mention of it. And whenever Dr. Boster mentions transverse myelitis, he always calls it, "God forbid, transverse myelitis." I'm sure I don't have a bad case of it or I wouldn't be walking around, but Boster also said it's one of the things that can worsen your overall prognosis. So I'm not going freak out, but I will be asking about it at my next appointment!

[MSFlea in reply to CatsandCars]

That really had to knock the wind out of your sails! 🧡I'm sorry you had to find out about it that way. I do remember hearing Dr. Boster talk about transverse myelitis, but not what it actually is, had to Google it, and Dr. Google doesn't know much. Will have to search Dr. Boster's Youtube channel for it, now I'm curious. Hugs to you, my friend, 🧡

[CatsandCars in reply to MSFlea]

Thanks. MSFlea. I think there are basically three outcomes, and two of them are bad, so must have a milder case. And at least I didn't get my diagnosis in an insensitive way like you did. That was awful. But we're here now, and we go forward!

[mrsmike9 in reply to CatsandCars]

Call the office! I have done that and gotten questions answered. Only one time did the doctor, himself, call me back. Usually the nurses get the answer and can tell you what the doctor said.

[CatsandCars in reply to mrsmike9]

Thanks, mrsmike9. I'll think about it! My next appointment is only a month away, though, so I may just wait.

[Cwright170994]

Medcorder sounds like a good idea! Will try and use that at my appointment next week 😁 sorry, I'm currently on my pc, so the emojis aren't quite the same 🤫 abridge sounds a bit like a money sink, not quite fit for people who need it but can't afford to have that money go somewhere they might not use often.

I did video my 1st neuro going through my 1st MRI scan when I was on the road to getting my diagnosis! I did ask him if I could record it, and he happily agreed and went though it with me, and my mum in the background of that appointment. She's the embodiment of the proverbial mama-bear, always looking out for her children and saving them from danger ❤️ managed to upload that video to my facebook, because the only thing on there was about me and there was no risk of HIPPA stuff. I've been able to do a screenshot of that first lesion to send to the government to help me get my disability benefits. The neuro I had after the 1st transferred to a different health trust wouldn't let me record him going through the MRI I had with him 🙄

It's really good how you know when your next appointment's coming up! I had to go to A&E the other day, not being able to move my right leg unless I used my hands to put it in position, to find out that I had an appointment with my neuro in October! That got moved to next Friday thankfully, as a bit of an emergency "see her now!" type of thing 😅

[MSFlea in reply to Cwright170994]

I thought Abridge sounded really nifty till I discovered how much it was per month! I'm glad that I found there was a free app that basically does the same thing, but like CatsandCars said, basically any recorder will do, well, as long as your neuro/doctor is okay with it.

That is so cool that your 1st neuro let you video going through your MRI! I wish I had thought of that. Going through my 1st MRI, my neuro wouldn't even tell me how many lesions I have. I've asked several times, and she is just too lazy, I think. So glad I'm going to a new one soon!

I'm so sorry to hear about your leg!🧡I hope that your appointment with your neuro goes well!🧡

[Cwright170994 in reply to MSFlea]

My leg's alright now, it's a cold taking it all out of me now 🙄

What. a. b1tch! 🤬😒 I'm happy you're going to a new one now, too! Hopefully they'll let you see your MRIs, and give you the information you ask for 😊. I went through something called PALS to get copies of my subsequent MRIs. It's short for Patient Advice Liaison Service, and they're departments in each health trust. It's something that's in the NHS, so I don't know what you could use to get those records in the US 🤔

I've got a YouTube channel which has a large part of my MS journey on so, if you'd like, you can have a bit of a nosey. Got to upload a new video to it for my recent stuff, but it's mainly all there 🤷‍♀️ here's a link to my vids, so you can have a look if you'd like:

youtube.com/@lottieew135?si...

[CatsandCars in reply to Cwright170994]

I'm glad your leg is okay and you're getting in to see the doctor sooner!

[Cwright170994 in reply to CatsandCars]

Thank you ❤

[ms23 in reply to Cwright170994]

I hope your leg gets better as your cold resolves. So glad you will see your Neuro this week instead of in October! I agree with others here in that I wouldn’t trust AI to reliably transcribe a medical appointment. My daughter gets pages of notes from her Neuro a day after her visits. She always gets a copy of her MRI disk before we leave the radiologist, and the report when it’s available. Same with X-rays, and her other doctors all provide visit summaries. So helpful because there is so much info to absorb!

[Cwright170994 in reply to ms23]

It's gotten better now 😅 managed to pass it on to my husband though, so we're both restricting ourselves to the house to hopefully not pass it on to others 🤞❤ I love being able to get carbon copies of letters and reports sent to me too! Though, back in 2021 when I had a 27 day hospital stay and had an MRI in there, the radiologists hadn't seen my MRIs from before I went in because I was in a different hospital trust to my normal one 😬 I got sent a carbon copy of a letter originally sent to my neurologist saying it looked like I have a new form of MS - tumefactive MS 😬 that really scared me, until my mum made me laugh when she called it M&S MS 🤣🤣🤣 confirmed though, by my then neurologist, that I still had just RRMS! So, yay!

I don't think I need to really get "translations" for medical terms 🤔 I'm an ex student nurse, so I've come across a lot of the terms, or can work out what a word means 🤷‍♀️ but it'll be helpful for my husband if he happens to read/listen to my stuff when I'm not there 😅

[falalalala]

No, I rely on my razor sharp memory.

No, actually I don't. I rely on my husband's razor sharp memory.😀

A recording device is a great idea but there's no way I'd pay $250 per month.😅😅😅

[MSFlea in reply to falalalala]

Same, I've been relying on my husband's memory 😉 I'm glad I found Medcorder (free so is much better!), I'm going to see if I can try it out at my next medical appointment and see how it works, or just try a recording app in general... though as a doctor, they might like that it's HIPAA compliant app🙂

I was actually rather upset at the blogger I was following for posting about that app as though it were something that everyone should be using for their medical records. She is a chronic illness blogger/advocate. I know she has to make money somehow, but yikes that is 💲💲!

But, on the bright side, it gave me the idea to look up similar apps and the idea to record the upcoming appointment, so there is that!😀

[falalalala in reply to MSFlea]

I hope you find something good!

[Greentime in reply to falalalala]

😂

[Peruzzot]

I hadn't thought of audio recording appointments before. I only write my notes from the appointment right after the appointment is done in my notebook that I always carry with me. I don't trust AI to record what it thinks is important. Because it might only record frivolous stuff, or mistranscribe what was said. It tends to be very bad with women's voices and accents that are different than the people who programmed it to recognize voices. Some kind of digital recorder would be more reliable for you and then copy down what is important to you.

[MSFlea in reply to Peruzzot]

That is very true about accents! There is a meme cartoon video that was made about two people with accents getting stuck in a new AI elevator (I don't think those exist yet), because the AI would not register their choice because of their accent. It was a funny cartoon, but I can see how not funny that would be if they actually installed an AI that would not register accents into an elevator!

I didn't know that AI didn't do well with women's voices too! I wouldn't want the app for the transcription AI part, I just would not trust it, as everyone has pointed out, it would be very faulty. I want the recording part, and make my notes off the recording.

Very smart of you to make your notes right after the appointment while it was still fresh! I usually try to take some notes during the appointment, but they go so fast, I generally give up and rely on my hubby's memory (he goes to my most important appointments with me). But we both are human and forget things. Having a recording would be so helpful!

[Cheryl5798]

I use an app called Voice Memos. It is free and was already on my iPhone. I have recorded long conversations / appointments. You can pause, share, copy, duplicate…. Etc You can also customize the title of every recording and it has a date stamp. I hope this helps.

Voice Memo app

[MSFlea in reply to Cheryl5798]

Oh, this is awesome, especially if you have recorded long times on, that is my worry, I am planning a long appointment, with need to pause often, and I want to make sure that whatever app I use can handle that. Thanks!🧡

[Cheryl5798 in reply to MSFlea]

If you try it let me know how it works out for you.

[MSFlea in reply to Cheryl5798]

🫡

[NanciG]

I use Smart Voice Recorder app by Smart Mob on my Samsung phone and have no problems with it. I use the free version that does have ads at the bottom of the screen. It works fine, so I have no desire to pay for ad-free. I'm kinda frugal that way. There are lots of free recording apps for Android and Apple phones. If you don't need AI to translate, you can take your own notes.