In recent months, my family has faced health challenges that brought not only stress and fear but also an urgent need for clear communication. While doctors provide essential guidance, medical conversations can be overwhelming, especially when crucial details must be shared accurately with family members who aren’t part of the call. We’ve experienced firsthand how challenging it is to manage appointments, remember instructions, and keep up with the details of each discussion, particularly when emotions are high. From capturing technical information to navigating fast-paced conversations, the process can feel daunting, and often, there’s a disconnect between what’s said and what’s remembered. This disconnect can make it difficult for each family member to fully understand the advice given by our doctors, underscoring how essential it is to ensure nothing gets lost in translation.
As a member of the Richmond Hospital Foundation’s board of directors, I reached out for advice after about a week of my parents trying to keep up with phone calls, appointments, and instructions. Our Foundation’s CEO suggested an approach I’ll forever be grateful for: she encouraged us to record every call or in-person conversation with the doctors. This suggestion transformed the way we approached our family’s medical discussions. Now, instead of relying on memory alone, we recorded calls and shared them with family members, making sure everyone could access the same information without the usual “game of telephone.”
However, this introduced a new challenge. To fully understand each conversation, someone had to sit down and listen to every recording, which sometimes lasted close to an hour and was often filled with medical jargon unfamiliar to most of us. While listening to the entire conversation was crucial, keeping focus through these lengthy recordings proved challenging for everyone involved.
My brother, Chris, devised an ingenious solution to overcome this challenge. He decided to transcribe the audio recordings into text and then upload the text to GPT for summarization and clarity. This approach allowed us to distill each conversation, capturing the key points and actionable steps the doctors recommended. Using GPT also simplified some of the more technical language, making it easier for everyone to understand what needed to happen next. Essentially, we could “data mine” the conversation for critical insights and then share these concise summaries with the whole family, keeping everyone informed and on the same page.
So, why title this article “Why Everyone Should Be Excited About the Telephone Recording Feature in iOS 18”? With the release of iOS 18’s record and transcribe tools, the entire process has become remarkably simpler. Apple’s new feature allows conversations to be recorded and transcribed directly in the Notes app, generating text versions instantly. This addition removes the need to juggle multiple apps or devices—everything now happens seamlessly in one place. Plus, the built-in AI can capture and summarize essential details with impressive accuracy, securely storing all the information you need in one convenient spot. And if you do not have access to the AI features of iOS, you can copy and paste the text in the Notes app from the conversation right into GPT for free.
This journey has shown me how technology can play a vital role in healthcare. By recording, transcribing, and sharing medical information with family members, we’ve avoided miscommunications and helped each other stay in the loop, no matter where we are. The record and transcribe feature in iOS 18 isn’t just a convenience; for us, it’s become a valuable tool for maintaining peace of mind during challenging times.
In sharing this story, I hope that other families can benefit from knowing there’s a practical way to keep everyone aligned and reduce the stress of managing complex health information. iOS 18’s recording and transcription capability provides a level of clarity and cohesion we didn’t realize we needed—and it’s been instrumental in helping us navigate a difficult path together.
Link on HOW to record and transcribe a telephone conversation
https://support.apple.com/en-sg/guide/iphone/iph57c6590e9/ios
