The veterinary profession is facing a crisis of burnout, with 86% of veterinarians reporting severe stress levels. One of the compounding issues includes a frequently overlooked culprit: spending hours writing medical records. Scribenote, an AI-powered medical scribe for veterinarians, has raised $8.2M in seed funding to tackle this problem head-on. The company’s funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with additional participation from Inovia Capital, the Velocity Fund, and a line-up of angel investors.
Veterinarians have a legal responsibility to document every aspect of their interactions with clients, necessitating accurate and complete medical records. Unfortunately, with various types of appointments every 20 to 30 minutes of the day, documentation can be challenging and pile up quickly. Some veterinarians may see up to 30 patients in one day and there is rarely time to document between visits. This results in veterinarians working overtime during lunch and at the end of the day to type records.
Scribenote was started in December 2019 when CEO Ryan Gallagher noticed his sister Katie, a small animal veterinarian, consistently working late to catch up on medical records. After shadowing her at the clinic, he realized that detailed discussions that occurred during veterinary appointments could potentially be captured in real time to eliminate additional workload. When he noticed other veterinarians at the clinic shared the same problem, Gallagher, a University of Waterloo engineering student at the time, saw an opportunity for automation and promised his sister he would build a solution that would allow her to get home from the clinic on time.
Three years later, Ryan’s promise came true. Co-founded by Dr. Katie Gallagher, Alina Pavel, and Emily Merry, Scribenote records conversations between veterinarians and clients, and uses AI to automatically generate accurate medical records in just minutes. In addition to medical records and dental charts, various forms of client communication are also automated, allowing veterinary professionals to fully focus on patient care and building relationships with clients. By providing complete and detailed records of what was discussed, documentation struggles are reduced for an already overburdened Profession.
The platform’s user-friendly design allows veterinarians to start a note on their phone and add to it later from any device logged into their account. Even with poor internet connectivity, users can create offline recordings and sync them later. Scribenote runs in the background to capture audio while veterinarians focus on their patients. At the end of the day, Scribenote’s desktop widget, playfully dubbed “Draggy-Droppy,” allows users to copy their completed Scribenote records into any Practice Information Management System (PIMS) in just seconds.
Scribenote is serving hundreds of clinics – both independently owned and through enterprise wide deals – across North America. In less than a year, its AI Scribe product has already automated over 1.5 million medical records, saving veterinarians up to two hours per day. This has been achieved with just $250K pre-seed funding. The company’s AI scribe is designed for general practitioners and specialist veterinarians alike, with users ranging from recent graduates to those with 35 years of experience in the field. The impact on veterinarians’ lives has been significant. Customers report finally being able to take lunch breaks, spending more time with family, and focusing more on their patients. Some users have even shared that Scribenote has been invaluable when they were injured or losing mobility in their hands, allowing them to continue their work without physically writing notes.
The veterinary industry has seen significant changes in recent years, driven by an influx of private equity capital and the effects of the pandemic. These shifts have intensified pressure on veterinary professionals to see more patients and generate more revenue.
With this new funding, Scribenote plans to further develop its AI technology and expand its platform. The company aims to create personalized AI scribes for each veterinarian and build an efficient, intelligent platform for editing and finalizing records. Long-term, all four co-founders and their growing team of Scribenauts envision using AI scribing as a foundation to eliminate every unnecessary click and keystroke from a veterinarian’s day.
As Scribenote continues to grow, Gallagher frequently reflects on his last few months caring for his childhood Golden Retriever, Cali, who lived to the ripe old age of 16. She received the best possible care from Katie who was there for her every time she accidentally swallowed a sock or needed a nail trim. Scribenote wants to help a million other pets like Cali get the care they deserve, and give thousands of veterinarians like Katie the ability to deliver that care more efficiently.
Cisco & University of Ottawa Equip Engineering Students With Job-Ready IT & Cybersecurity Skills
Posted in Commentary with tags Cisco on September 24, 2024 by itnerdCisco and the University of Ottawa have announced a partnership to better prepare students for careers in the technology industry.
Funded by Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program, Cisco will integrate industry-recognized Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification into the university’s Computer and Software Engineering curriculum. The CCNA certification validates a broad range of fundamentals for all IT careers — from networking technologies, to security, to software development — proving that the holder has the skills businesses want and candidates need to meet market demands.
Building Canada’s Digital Skills Capacity
ICTC projections indicate a need for 250,000 additional jobs within the technology industry by 2025. Addressing a shortage of skilled talent is a strategic imperative for companies to innovate, sustain growth, and compete globally, and it requires collaboration between the public and private sector to build a robust pipeline of networking, AI and cybersecurity talent.
As part of this partnership, Cisco is also providing equipment to the university’s Cyber Range to support cyber-research initiatives. The Cyber Range is a unique training, learning and research facility where individuals and organizations can practice comprehensive cybersecurity crisis management in a realistic and immersive environment to learn how to anticipate, respond to, manage, contain and remediate cyber-attacks.
Students enrolled in the Computer and Software Engineering programs can expect to take the CCNA certification as part of their third-year courses starting in the Winter 2025 semester.
Digital Skills for All
Cisco is committed to inclusive access to digital skills training and supporting those who use technology to educate. Through programs like Cisco Networking Academy and CDA, Cisco leverages its technology and expertise to create opportunities for individuals to thrive and supports Canada’s digital leadership on the global stage. Since its inception in Canada, Networking Academy has trained over 340,000 Canadians with industry-recognized credentials and courses.
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