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In this issue, The BMJ's international editor, Jocalyn Clark, sets out when you can and can't use AI to write papers.

We've also made five articles from The BMJ free to read from 21 August to 4 September.

Among them is an exclusive: only about a fifth of hospital trusts in England, 39 of 184, reported using fully electronic clinical record keeping, more than two decades after ministers first set out ambitions to move the health service off paper. There's also a column from intensive care consultant Matt Morgan on why AI cannot replace a doctor's authentic voice, and an obituary of Martyn Webster, who pioneered breast reconstruction and microsurgery techniques. Plus a summer reading list.

Next month we will interview Hemal Desai, a non-executive director of BMJ Group, on the organisation's work with software companies to bring evidence based content directly to clinicians. Send questions for him to cschuster-bruce@bmj.com by 1 September. 

Can I use AI for a paper I’m submitting to The BMJ?

“We need some guardrails to ensure scholarship, not slop,” Jocalyn Clark, international editor at The BMJ, said in an editorial titled “actual intelligence sought,” published on 6 August. Clark, who also sits on the BMJ Future Health advisory committee, said that policy and editorial judgements centre on transparency and trust, and the journal relies on author declarations. Beyond that, the rules on AI use depend on article type. Authors writing rapid responses, letters, or opinion articles can use AI for spelling, grammar, and translation, whereas columnists cannot use the technology at all. “For other articles, including analysis and editorials, we prioritise the deep human analysis of ideas, nuance, complexity, and argumentation,” she said. 

Clark is speaking about women’s health innovation on 30 October at 1415 at BMJ Future Health in London.

Tell us what digital health is really like

BMJ Future Health and DNV are surveying healthcare professionals across Europe about digital health. Share your experience by 1700 BST (1800 CEST) on 23 August and you will be entered in a prize draw for one of 10 two-day tickets to BMJ Future Health on 29-30 October in London.

Open to survey recipients only, one entry per person. Full terms and privacy notice. DNV is a commercial partner of BMJ Future Health.

Stay current in digital health and AI 

We selected these papers from BMJ Group journals to help you keep pace with the issues that arise at the intersection of technology and healthcare. Here is your summer reading list.  

• Original research
  • The Los Angeles Times covered a study published in Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open on the rise of e-bike injuries in California. “Compared with traditional cyclists, e-bike riders are younger, incur more severe injuries, and are more often at fault, with notable violation patterns like unsafe speeds and improper turns.” (Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open)
• Editorial 
  • Rethinking AI fairness through the lens of structural and social determinants of health.
    “By treating inequity as the core problem and involving patients and the public early, AI can help close rather than widen existing health gaps.” (BMJ Digital Health & AI)
  • Generative AI for mental health: promise, risk and the path forward.
    “What we need now is action: healthcare workers can access and use the recently established MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency] guidance; developers and policymakers can apply to the MHRA and PATH [Progam for Appropriate Technology for Health] airlocks; contribute to future public consultations on standards; and support regulators in working together.” (BMJ Digital Health & AI)
• Review
  • How artificial intelligence is disrupting the field of medical knowledge and evaluation: a narrative review.
    “Evaluation should be more closely linked to the local contexts in which AI is deployed and used and better integrated with clinical practice.”  (BMJ Digital Health & AI)
  • The use of ambient voice technology (AVT) for clinician–patient consultations in healthcare practice: A rapid systematic scoping review.
    “Current evidence does not yet support widespread adoption of AVT in clinical practice.” (BMJ Digital Health & AI)
• News
  • AI scribes: UK regulator issues update on use of technology by doctors. (The BMJ, subscription)

The following papers are available to read for the BMJ Future Health community until 4 September. 

• Analysis 
  • Artificial intelligence as a new commercial determinant of health. (The BMJ)
  • Adolescent social media restrictions: are we missing the bigger picture? (The BMJ)
• News
  • Four fifths of NHS trusts are still using pen and paper for record keeping, 25 years after first digitisation push. (The BMJ)
• Opinion
  • Matt Morgan: AI can never replace a doctor’s authentic voice. (The BMJ)
• Obituary
  • Martyn Webster: Plastic surgeon who pioneered techniques in breast reconstruction and microsurgery. (The BMJ)        

That's it. We hope you enjoy your summer reads.