Patient Confidentiality in the Age of AI Transcription
4 min read
Consent, transparency and the practical etiquette of recording a clinical encounter responsibly.
Introducing a microphone into the surgery changes the encounter, and confidentiality obligations do not pause because a tool is helpful. The duty of confidentiality a dentist owes a patient extends to every system that touches the conversation.
Transparency with the patient
Patients should understand, in plain terms, that an AI tool is being used to help write up their notes, what happens to any recording, and that they can ask for it not to be used. Transparency is not only an ethical default; it is the foundation of the trust that makes the consultation work.
Confidentiality controls in the software
- Access scoping: a clinician sees only their own patients’ data; administrative access is separated and logged.
- No-storage mode: practices that prefer it can process audio in real time and never persist a recording at all.
- Minimised exposure: identifiers are handled carefully and never embedded in shareable links or analytics payloads.
The human dimension
Technical controls matter, but so does etiquette. The safest practices treat the recording device as part of the clinical relationship — visible, explained, and under the patient’s control — rather than as ambient surveillance the patient has to discover.