Artificial Intelligence in Allied Health Newsletter - May 2025

Happy May everyone!

It’s been yet another big month in AI development, and honestly, I need a new phrase as it’s going to continue to build momentum for the foreseeable future. I’ve had the pleasure of contributing to some great events this month; I had the honour of delivering the occasional address at the University of Sydney graduation ceremony for Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy students; I was involved in the AFL Gather Round (where all our AFL teams come together in one city for a round of games locally) with a great introductory session with the AFL Dietitians; and I’m off to the Digital Health festival in Melbourne this week. It’s also been a very exciting product development month with our AI in Allied Health Ecosystem being built (going live shortly), a few extra webinar bundles (see the bottom of this email), and the interactive course I’ve been writing is almost finished! Finally, I’m in the initial phases of planning a hackathon, so if you have a burning desire for a software/ AI solution, please let me know your idea and problem and it might feature in the hackathon! Enjoy this months’ newsletter! 

Industry News 

AI Powered Assistive Technology 

A group of designers out of South Korea have developed a smart recovery/ rehabilitation walking frame. The AI-powered walking aid couples wearables with a smart walking frame to adapt in real time to support improvements in posture, balance and gait. The integration of AI and wearables allows for real-time feedback, remote monitoring, and adaptive support tailored to the patient. It’s a fascinating use case and a great example of how AI will be assisting allied health professionals into the future.  

Read More Here: https://www.yankodesign.com/2025/04/20/this-ai-powered-walking-aid-redefines-rehabilitation-with-smart-hands-free-patient-recovery/

Mental Health Chatbot Regulation 

Utah has passed a first-of-its-kind law regulating mental health chatbots, requiring clear disclosures when clients are interacting with AI rather than a human. The law applies to AI tools marketed as mental health or wellness services and mandates transparency, user consent, and data protection measures. While it doesn't ban the use of chatbots, it signals growing attention to the ethical and legal implications of AI in healthcare, especially in sensitive areas like mental health. Allied health professionals using or considering AI tools should keep an eye on this emerging regulatory landscape. 

Read More Here: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/utah-enacts-mental-health-chatbot-law-6742475/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

AI Scribes in the NHS 

NHS England released new guidance on AI Scribes (Ambient Listening AI) this month. In summary, it says that if the scribe does more than pure transcription, it is a medical device. Essentially, it says that if they transcribe only = not a medical device. If they summarise = is a medical device. They advise that features that push it into medical device territory include summarising, incorporating a diagnosis or prognosis, triaging or stratifying, or carrying any prescriptive functions (like managing or recommending treatments). This paragraph is particularly interesting:  

“Ambient scribing products that inform medical decisions and have simple/ low functionality (for example, products that solely generate text transcriptions that are easily verified by qualified users) are likely not medical devices. However, the use of Generative AI for further processing, such as summarisation, would be treated as high functionality and likely would qualify as a medical device.” 

This shows that the regulatory debate around AI use in healthcare is still fierce, and the arguments for and against AI scribes requiring regulatory oversight remains hotly contested. It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts regulatory environments across the world, and how this impacts the functionality and future functionality of AI Scribes. 

Read the NHS Guidance Here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/guidance-on-the-use-of-ai-enabled-ambient-scribing-products-in-health-and-care-settings/#appendix-in-depth-considerations-and-actions 

Research 

A new scoping review out of Greece has mapped how artificial intelligence is being used in occupational therapy through human–computer interaction (HCI) technologies. The review identified 26 studies across four key areas: stroke rehab, developmental conditions (like Autism and Cerebral Palsy), ageing and assisted living, and emotional support. Tools ranged from VR and robotic arms to AI-powered games and socially assistive robots. Across all domains, AI showed promise in personalising therapy, improving engagement, and supporting independence. However, most applications are still in early stages, with small-scale trials and limited long-term data. 

Implications for practice 
This research highlights emerging opportunities for allied health professionals to explore AI-enabled tools, particularly in stroke rehab, neurodevelopmental conditions, and elder care. As technologies mature, clinicians will need to engage with issues like ethical use, accessibility, and integration into existing workflows. Staying informed now will help clinicians lead, rather than follow, in adopting meaningful innovations. 

Read the Paper Here: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4893/18/5/276 

Prompt of the Month 

Each month, I’ll be sharing a useful AI prompt designed to enhance your practice. This is less a prompt, and more a hot tip. My favourite prompt is to ask the LLM (AI model/ tool) to ask me any questions needed before completing the task. 

So, often at the end of my prompt I’ll add something like “please ask any clarifying questions if needed before completing this task.” 

This prompts the AI model to ask you to clarify any unknowns before it completes its task. I find doing this means I get more thorough responses that are tailored to my needs, and I have to adjust/ edit less often. I also find it therefore confabulates and invents details less often, because it’s not making as many assumptions. Try it for yourself and let me know how you go! 

Tried this prompt? Send me an email and let me know how you found it! 

Upcoming Events 

Free: The Group Chat – group supervision/ community of practice 

When: Next week, Thursday, 22nd May 2025. 11.30-12.30 AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time- Sydney/ Melbourne time). Note, to accommodate timezones we are shifting slightly earlier, with this session 30 minutes earlier than usual.  

Find your timezone here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html 
Where: Online via Zoom 
Cost: Free 

Join me for a free, interactive "group chat" to share all things AI in allied health. It's a group supervision, community of practice, or interest group- whatever you want to call it, I'm calling it the 'group chat.' This session will be an open, informal, and mostly unstructured discussion for brainstorming, sharing ideas and challenges and peer learning! 

The session will be recorded and available to those unable to attend live. 

Sign up here. https://www.thetrainingclub.com.au/offers/GomvYPKz 

 Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 exciting ways I can help to elevate your practice with AI: 

1.  Smarter Documentation Bundle – my two my popular webinars (Report writing + AI Scribes) is now bundled for $89. If documentation is draining you, this is a great place to start. 
   More Info Here: https://www.thetrainingclub.com.au/offers/XV2FXBNs/checkout 
2. AI Webinar Library Subscription – Get instant access to the entire webinar library & all future released. Learn at your own pace, cancel anytime. 
   More Info Here: https://www.thetrainingclub.com.au/offers/SV8LFBhj/checkout 
3. Need tailored advice? Book an enquiry call to discuss how I can assist you with workplace training, AI strategy, or workflows in your business.  More Info Here: https://calendly.com/jessfrancis-ttc

Thank You for Being Part of Our Community 
If you have any questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to reply to this email—I’d love to hear from you! 

- Jess