Nelson Orthopaedic Group is a high-volume orthopaedic surgical practice based in New Zealand. Every clinic day generates a steady flow of GP letters, surgical correspondence, patient communication and administrative work that needs to be completed accurately and sent quickly.
Karen, the Practice Manager, sits at the centre of that process. She sees firsthand how documentation moves through the clinic and how much time surgeons spend reviewing and approving letters.
When the documentation workflow works well, the clinic runs smoothly. When it doesn’t, the extra admin has a habit of landing on Karen’s desk.
Before Medow, Nelson Orthopaedic Group used Heidi, one of the most widely adopted AI scribes in the world.
While Heidi is built to support a broad range of healthcare settings, Medow is designed specifically for specialist medical practices. That difference became increasingly important as Nelson Orthopaedic Group looked for a solution that could better reflect the workflows, language and documentation requirements of a busy orthopaedic surgical group.
None of those issues were major in isolation. But across a busy surgical practice, they added up. Hours of editing across hundreds of letters. More administration. More time spent reviewing documentation that should already have been ready to send.
"With the previous tool, there was a lot more checking and editing before a letter could go out. With Medow, that’s largely gone."
When templates needed updating or workflows needed refining, support was also harder to access. For Karen, that often meant more work falling back on the clinic team.
Unlike general-purpose AI scribes, Medow is built specifically for specialist medicine in Australia and New Zealand. Each speciality has its own dedicated AI model, trained on the language, terminology and documentation requirements of that field. Behind those models is a team of in-house doctors, AI specialists and technicians who continuously refine outputs to ensure they reflect the realities of specialist practice.
That means understanding not just orthopaedic terminology, but the workflows that surround it. At Nelson Orthopaedic Group, Medow is used across consult letters, referrals, operation notes and even specialist surgical documentation.
"We’ve gone beyond notes and letters. One of our surgeons is now using Medow to generate ARTPs as well."
Just as importantly, the letters feel more personal.
Different surgeons have different ways of communicating, structuring letters and describing clinical findings. One of the things Karen noticed most was that those differences started to come through in the final output.
"There’s a flavour to each surgeon. I can definitely tell a Kate letter from a Lloyd letter."
For Karen, that was one of the clearest differences compared to the previous solution.
"The previous letters sounded less like the surgeons. Whereas Medow puts that back in."
The most immediate change was the amount of admin that stopped landing on Karen’s desk. Documentation that previously required reformatting, editing and chasing now moved through the clinic far more smoothly. By the time a letter reached her, most of the work had already been done.
" Now that the letter is synced directly to Elixir, all I have to do is a quick check and then boom, off the letter goes. It saves me a lot of time."
That freed Karen up to focus on the work that actually requires a Practice Manager’s attention.
"It gives you a lot more time to do other things while a clinic is running."
The impact went beyond efficiency. It changed the pace of the clinic.
Patient interactions felt less rushed. Cost estimates, surgery applications and administrative tasks that previously spilled into after-hours could now be completed during the clinic day.
"You’re not feeling like you’re rushing or stressed and you’re not staying late anymore."
Practice managers notice when their surgeons are stressed. They notice when documentation starts piling up. When letters take longer to review. When the admin follows people home at the end of the day.
Karen noticed the opposite. For one surgeon in particular, a younger doctor with young children at home, the change was significant.
"Medow has been quite life-changing for him. It’s saving him a lot of time, and certainly lowering his stress levels."
That kind of impact does not show up in a time-saved stat. It shows up in how someone feels at the end of a clinic day, and what they have left for the rest of their life.
One of the biggest differences Karen noticed after the switch was the support experience. For a busy practice manager, getting help quickly matters. Templates need refining. Workflows need adjusting. Questions come up. When they do, waiting days for a response isn’t an option. With Medow, Karen always knew who to contact.
"You can actually talk to people. You can email people. It’s been a completely different experience."
Having a dedicated Customer Success Manager who understood the practice and the surgeons using the platform made a meaningful difference.
"Rosanna is amazing. Whenever we’ve needed something, she’s been there to help."
The rollout itself was also simpler than Karen expected.
"It doesn’t actually take a lot to set up, and I think it’s very easy and intuitive to use."
For Karen, that’s what good support looks like: a smooth implementation, quick responses, and a team that helps the practice get the most out of the platform over time.
Karen has seen both sides. She’s worked with a general-purpose AI scribe. She’s worked with Medow. And she’s seen the difference those workflows make to the people running the clinic every day.
"It's definitely worth giving it a go. You’ll have a happier surgeon and a happier team as well."
When the documentation workflow is right, everything else becomes easier.
The letters go out on time. The admin stays manageable. Surgeons spend less time reviewing documentation. And the clinic simply runs more smoothly.
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