Health Startup 'Notable' Announces Apple Watch App to Automatically Record Doctor Visits

A new health-focused startup called Notable today announced its first app for Apple Watch, which aims to automatically record and digitize visits to the doctor as well as "eliminate the vast majority of clinical administrative work." Using deep learning algorithms, AI, and natural language processing to identify voices, Notable records interactions between doctors and patients so that specific information can be revisited by physicians, healthcare providers, and patients.

The company says that its technology not only helps busy doctors cut down on paperwork and other administrative tasks, but also lowers the stress of visits for patients. Notable's Apple Watch app captures a visit's duration, location, and more, then compiles the data from the doctor's Apple Watch to add labs, prescriptions, referrals, and more to the patient's medical records. The doctor then looks over all of this information for accuracy before submitting it to the patient's electronic health records.

To accomplish these tasks, the app uses voice wake features that make it possible for doctors to complete an encounter "with just one tap." The app automatically structures conversations, dictations, orders, and recommends the appropriate billing codes. Since Notable's beta launch, the company says it has earned an approval rating of more than 98.5 percent by doctors using the service.

"Notable frees me to spend more quality time with my patients at work, and more quality time with my family when I get home. I now complete almost 100% of my notes immediately after the patient visit is completed. I've worked with typing entry, iPhone transcription services and a scribe. None of them compare to Notable and I can't imagine going back.” — Dr. Dolan, Orthopedist

"The thing that I like the most about this product is that it combines two very unusual characteristics: it is simultaneously the most faithful and least intrusive means of recording what happened. A wrist watch doesn’t take up the same kind of space as a computer, a tablet, or a even a dictaphone, and … it encourages face to face contact during speech." — Dr. Gollogly, Orthopedist

On its website, Notable says that the app is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, ensuring that the medical data of every patient is secure and private. "Security & HIPAA compliance are essential to everything we do, and we are proud to exceed the industry standard in protecting your organization."

Company CEO Pranay Kapadia got the idea for Notable after his family complained about the many frustrating administrative tasks they had to complete as doctors. Kapadia explained: "We started Notable to leverage powerful technologies such as AI, wearables and voice interface to address these challenges and to give physicians what they really want — a seamless, truly hands-free solution, not another screen to learn or computer application."

Apple Watch has become a major factor in many health-related startups and studies, with a few this year suggesting Apple's wearable device can detect early signs of diabetes, high potassium, and abnormal heart rhythms with 97 percent accuracy. Apple itself runs the Apple Heart Study in partnership with Stanford University, allowing users to contribute their Apple Watch's heart rate sensor data and identify irregular heart rhythms.