If a patient has mentioned using PatientScribe, or you've noticed them recording an appointment, here's what you need to know about how the app works and how we've designed it to respect your practice.
Research consistently shows that patients forget a significant portion of what's discussed during medical appointments — often within minutes of leaving. This can lead to confusion about diagnoses, missed follow-up steps, and difficulty explaining their care to family members.
PatientScribe was created to help patients understand and remember their care. It's a simple iOS app that records consultations and uses AI to generate plain-language summaries, helping patients retain key information and share it with family or carers who couldn't be present.
We take privacy seriously — both yours and your patients'. Here's how we've built consent and data protection into the app:
Consent is required. Before each recording, patients must confirm they have permission to record. The app prompts them to obtain consent from all parties present.
Recordings are not stored. Audio is sent securely to AssemblyAI for transcription, then deleted from both the device and AssemblyAI's servers. The transcript text is then sent to Anthropic for summarisation. Neither service uses API data to train their models.
Summaries and transcripts stay on the patient's device. The generated summary and transcript are stored locally on the patient's phone. They can delete them whenever they choose, but they're never uploaded or shared without their explicit action.
AI-generated summaries are helpful tools, but they're not perfect. We want both clinicians and patients to understand the limitations:
Summaries may contain errors. AI can misinterpret medical terminology, miss nuances, or occasionally get details wrong. We make this clear to patients within the app.
Not a replacement for clinical documentation. PatientScribe summaries are designed to help patients understand their care — they're not intended to serve as medical records or replace your clinical notes.
Patients are encouraged to clarify. We advise users to raise any discrepancies with their clinician. If a patient asks you about something in their summary that doesn't seem right, we appreciate you helping them understand what was actually discussed.
We built PatientScribe with input from clinicians, and we're always keen to hear from healthcare professionals. Whether you have concerns, suggestions, or just want to learn more, we'd love to hear from you.
support@digifrontiers.com.au