Google Takes On Doctor’s Dreadful Handwritting

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Google proposed a remedy for the doctor’s handwriting and is working on an AI technology to decode hard-to-read medical prescriptions.

Continue to find more information.

What Plan Is Google Up To?

The attribute will be part of Google Lens’ library applications that can get already asses, pasted handwriting, and copied from real life into your phone or computer. Also, the in-development prescription decipher will work similarly. 

How will it work?

Users will be able to upload or take a photo of a doctor’s prescription, and then the Lens app will automatically offer information.

We all know that doctors’ handwriting is worse than most peoples’ handwriting. Often, physicians operate in a unique shorthand.

Why Were These Measures Taken?

Handwritten prescriptions have caused headaches and worse. They led to medication errors when pharmacists couldn’t decipher making mistakes.

About 20 years ago, a pharmacy in the U.S. began writing electronic prescriptions that have become the norm. In some states, like New York, prescribing the wrong medicaments can lead to fines or even jail. 

Google set the in-progress product as vital for pharmacists and indicated the key to training and developing the new tech.

Here is what Google India’s director, Manish Gupta, said in the presentation:

 While the initial results have been heartening, much work still remains to be done before this system is ready for the real world.

Meanwhile, the prescription is intended to supplement human comprehension. According to the company:

This will act as an assistive technology for digitizing handwritten medical documents by augmenting the humans in the loop such as pharmacists, however no decision will be made solely based on the output provided by this technology.

If you agree with Google’s plan, stay tuned because more information is coming soon!

Bianca Raicu
Bianca is passionate about sports, music, technology, and everything entertainment! She's an avid reader, an animal lover (especially dogs), and a firm supporter of the environment. The Weeknd is her favorite artist, so you might soon see plenty of articles about him!