We are testing a new tool called ambient voice technology (AVT) in some of our services.
AVT listens to your appointment and writes a draft note for your clinician to check. It only helps with notetaking. It does not replace your clinician’s judgement, and it does not make decisions about your care.
Your choice
Before ambient voice technology is used, your clinician will explain:
- what it does
- what information it uses
- what happens to that information
You can ask questions and take your time to decide if you are happy for it to be used. You can say no and this will not affect your care. If you say no, your clinician will take notes in the usual way instead.
If a family member, carer, interpreter or another professional is with you, your clinician will explain it to them too, where appropriate.
You can stop AVT at any time
You can ask for ambient voice technology to be paused or stopped during your appointment. Your clinician may also stop using AVT if it is upsetting you, affects your conversation, could risk your privacy, records something incorrectly or is no longer suitable.
If you have questions about information already added to your health record, we will handle this under our privacy and health-record procedures.
What happens to information captured by AVT
Ambient voice technology turns your conversation into temporary text, such as a transcript, summary or draft note. It does not keep the audio recording.
The draft may not be completely accurate. For example, it might miss something or mix up who said what.
Your clinician checks the draft against what was actually discussed, and will correct it before using it. They will double-check important details such as your identity, diagnosis, medicines, allergies, safety concerns, decisions and next steps.
Nothing is added to your health record, and no letter is sent, until your clinician has checked it.
How we protect your privacy
Staff can only use ambient voice technology systems that Pennine Care has approved. We have checked these systems for patient safety, privacy, cyber security and technical standards.
- Only authorised staff can use it, and only for approved purposes.
- Only the clinicians who need the temporary information to complete your record or letter can see it.
- Staff must not put confidential information into personal or unapproved artificial intelligence (AI) tools or accounts.
- Your clinician will take care not to record other people's private conversations, particularly in group, online, home or community appointments.
How long we keep the information
We may keep temporary transcripts, summaries and draft notes securely for up to 30 days. This gives your clinician time to check them and complete your health record or letter.
After 30 days, the temporary information is automatically and securely deleted. Your clinician can delete it sooner if it's no longer needed, and it should be deleted as soon as the checked note has been added to your health record.
Your final health record is kept in the usual way.
Asking to see your information
You will not normally get copies of temporary transcripts or draft notes. But you can ask to see the personal information we hold about you by making a subject access request (SAR). We will consider this under data protection law. We may need to withhold some information if it's about another person.
Tell us what you think
If you or your carer have a question or concern about ambient voice technology, speak to your clinician. Telling us about your experience will help us understand how well the trial is working.
For general questions about the pilot, contact the digital project team: pcn-tr.digitalpmo@nhs.net
Patient advice and liaison service (PALS)
Our patient advice and liaison service offers confidential advice and support for patients, families and carers. They can guide you through NHS services and help resolve concerns quickly.
Comments and complaints
We welcome feedback and aim to resolve concerns quickly. Making a complaint will not affect your care.
Speak to a member of staff, or contact our complaints team.