Several Californians sued Sutter Health and MemorialCare this week over allegations that an AI transcription tool was used to record them without their consent ...
-- Ars Technica (@arstechnica.com) Apr 10, 2026 at 5:43 PM
"Most popular STT program was developed by Dragon Systems"
And we used that at a different vertically integrated software shop.
Still doesn't change the fact that PHI is a legal reality.
Data breach
Between 2014 and 2017, Nuance exposed over 45,000 patient records.
en.wikipedia.org
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#22 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-04-13 12:11 PM
The article specifically mentions Abridge AI, which looks like more than just a speech-to-text converter
Abridge is just one of many vertical healthcare software companies known as "ambient AI" - they integrate various client-facing "AI" processes with the usual back office software functions, like automated scheduling, billing, organizing data and analytics : www.heidihealth.com - What is Ambient AI? Ultimate Guide for Clinicians
|------- ... 5 of the Best Ambient AI Tools for Doctors
Healthcare professionals prioritize patient care quality above anything else. To foster relationships with patients, ambient AI tools lessen their workload by listening in the background and taking in clinical information. Thinking broadly, the "always on" concept of ambient AI provides a wide range of use cases in healthcare, including:
1. Ambient AI Transcription and Dictation
Medical transcription is the first and major feature common among ambient AI providers. Hospitals and clinics can now easily reduce human error in documentation by using ambient AI scribes.
An ambient AI scribe, such as Heidi, offers live transcription of patient conversations, capturing speech word-by-word. This transcript is visible in a panel, and Heidi's AI-enabled note generation streamlines your workflow even further. ...
4. Automated AI Billing & Insurance ...
5. Ambient AI Practice Management
The future of ambient AI in clinics will handle everything from appointment scheduling to staff coordination and logistics. It will take care of smart staff shifting and recommend available slots with data from clinicians' AI-assisted notes.
Heidi Comms automates routine phone calls like follow-ups and appointment confirmations so physicians can focus on patients. ...
-------|
.
Part 1 covers what you described in your #1 post:
~will you allow AI to record your conversations with the PCP so that the PCP does not have to spend time typing in your responses?~
My response was:
It's a basic speech-to-text, which is now on almost every phone or most devices with microphone. It's been available for quite a while and used to produce transcripts in medical and other industries to save time and/or labor, and has nothing to do with AI.
Some of your records will be processed by computer software, with or without the help of "AI", for billing, insurance and, if needed, provide assistance in diagnosis, course of action, etc.
.
Not everything that glitters is gold; not everything that today's marketing people call "AI" is actually AI.
Some articles that could be interesting for you to help understand the marketing hype vs reality:
www.forbes.com - What 'The Pitt' Gets Right And Wrong About Generative AI In Medicine - Forbes, 2026-02-03
www.wired.com - The Pitt Finally Offers a Stark Warning on AI in Medicine - Wired, 2026-02-19
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Heidi is taking a transcript and using AI to make it into an after visit summary. So there's a lot more judgment calls being made than simply accurately inferring what words were spoken.
The risk here is the AI gets it wrong once in a while, the doctor doesn't always verify every report since it's usually so accurate, and then bad medical information leads to incorrect treatment and bad outcomes.
Is this a lower risk than simply having the doctor type up their own summary? Maybe not. Looks like we will find out soon enough, though.
After Visit Summary Template
This after visit summary template can easily help you produce complete yet concise summaries of your patient's visit, ensuring that they have a good picture of their diagnosis, treatment plan, and next steps. With Heidi, you can leverage the benefits of AI to automatically generate doctor visit summaries that:
www.heidihealth.com
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