NHS England has published new guidance on the use of AI-powered ambient scribing tools in health and care settings, setting out how organisations can safely adopt the technology while meeting data protection and patient rights requirements.
Ambient scribes are AI tools that passively listen to clinical conversations and automatically generate outputs such as consultation notes, summaries or letters. The technology helps reduce administrative burden and allows clinicians to spend more time with patients.
The guidance, developed with input from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the National Data Guardian (NDG), includes sections for patients, healthcare workers, and IG professionals.
It sets out how information is handled when using these technologies, as well as key considerations around transparency, choice, and safeguards to protect privacy.
A key message in the guidance is that while explicit consent is not required for using ambient scribes in individual care, transparency is essential.
Clinicians must inform patients at the start of each interaction if the technology is being used, and patients must be given the opportunity to object, it states.
The guidance adds that “if an individual dissents, you cannot then use that tool,” reinforcing that patient choice remains central despite the introduction of AI.
In a post on LinkedIn, George Onisiforou, a member of the NHS England Responsible AI Adoption Committee and advisor on the responsible adoption of AI for NHSE and the Department of Health and Social Care, said the guidance is “a key milestone as strong information governance is essential to maintain patient trust, safety, and legal compliance”.
“Huge thanks to everyone involved in developing this guidance — colleagues across NHS England, our IG experts, and the Health and Care Information Governance Working Group,” he added.
Healthcare professionals are also reminded in the guidance that they retain full responsibility for the accuracy of clinical records.
Outputs generated by ambient scribes must be checked and corrected before being added to patient records, with additional validation recommended in more complex scenarios such as translation.
For organisations, the guidance highlights the need for robust governance processes, including conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments, clearly defining data controller and processor roles, and ensuring suppliers meet strict security and compliance standards.
Data minimisation is another major theme, with NHSE highlighting that audio recordings and transcripts should typically be deleted once a verified summary has been produced, unless there is a clear justification for retaining them, such as monitoring tool performance.
While ambient scribes are positioned as a tool to support, not replace, clinical decision-making, NHS England emphasises that their adoption introduces new risks. Organisations are urged to ensure staff are appropriately trained and that policies are in place to govern safe and effective use.
The fresh guidance comes as interest in generative AI tools accelerates across the NHS. Last month, it was revealed that East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is hosting a programme to deploy an ambient voice technology (AVT), across the NHS in England.
This comes after NHSE launched its national self-certified registry for AVT suppliers to show evidence of compliance.
