We’ve gathered some tips to make Gosta easier to use and to help you get the most out of the tool. The list of best practices has been compiled by health center physician Valtteri Rissanen, one of the longest-time users of Gosta. His insights are useful both for beginners and for more experienced users.
Consistent Interviewing
During appointments, aim for a clear and consistent interview style, ideally addressing one issue at a time.
If you’re discussing, for example, knee pain with a patient and the conversation starts drifting off-topic, steer it back to the original subject. This helps Gosta better understand which issues belong to the same context.
If the patient mentions additional symptoms, it helps Gosta if you explicitly state which main symptom those related complaints are connected to.
Speaking Out Symptoms
Patients often describe their symptoms through gestures or by pointing to where the pain or problem is located. Gosta does not understand these cues, since it only processes what it hears. In these situations, try to verbalize the patient’s description out loud, for example:
“So the pain is on the outside of your right knee?”
This way, Gosta also understands which pain is being referred to.
Going Through the Current Status After the Patient Leaves
If describing the current status (physical findings, observations) out loud feels awkward in front of the patient, you can just as well dictate it once the patient has left, before ending the recording. Gosta won’t mind this. If you prefer, you can also pause the tool briefly and then continue recording when you go through the current status.
Recap
At the end of the appointment, you can also recap the most important points, such as the main elements of the treatment plan and the key observations from the symptom description.