Not using AI scribes? Your IG/Clinical Safety policy still needs this.

As AI‑enabled transcription becomes more common in primary care, practices are increasingly at risk of clinicians, including locums, using mobile apps or consumer tools that have not been approved by the organisation. These tools may store data outside the UK, lack clinical safety assurance, or retain patient audio, creating significant confidentiality and GDPR risks.

We suggest that practices update their Information Governance and Clinical Safety policies to include something along these lines:

The use of any recording, transcription, or AI scribing tool that has not been formally approved, risk‑assessed, and deployed by the practice is strictly prohibited.

This protects patients, clinicians, and the organisation by ensuring:

• Only safe, audited, NHS‑compliant tools are used
• No patient data is captured on personal devices
• All documentation flows through approved clinical systems
• Locums and temporary staff follow the same rules as permanent staff

A single sentence in your policy backed by staff reminders and locum onboarding can help to close this emerging risk.