Everyone in the practice gets asked about this — usually by a patient, sometimes by a family member, occasionally by a surveyor. This is the short version for all staff. Clinicians have a longer lesson of their own.
The rule, in one line
The software drafts. A person decides.
Nothing clinical happens because the AI concluded something.
What that looks like on screen
You will see the same idea stated in several places, and these are not marketing lines — they are what the product actually enforces:
| Where | What it says |
|---|---|
| The differential | For clinician review only — not a diagnosis. Ranked most → least likely. |
| Orders | All orders are DRAFTS… clinician must Confirm |
| Coding | Suggested only — preview. Attest at sign-off; nothing is billed automatically. |
| The note | Your note — unsigned, and nothing writes into it on its own. |
| Evidence | No image or signal is interpreted. |
| The assistant | AI can make mistakes — verify anything clinical. |
What a clinician signs
At the end of a visit the clinician ticks five confirmations before anything is final:
- I reviewed and edited the draft note.
- I reviewed the differential (clinician-review-only).
- I reviewed every draft order; none are auto-transmitted.
- I reviewed the suggested coding and attest to the codes I accept.
- I am the licensed clinician of record for this encounter.
That is a person taking responsibility, in writing, for each thing the software helped with.
The sentence for a patient
"No — the system listens and drafts, and your clinician reviews and decides everything. It doesn't read scans and it doesn't make the call."
And on recording, which is the other question you'll get:
"We're not recording you. It writes down what we say as we say it, and the audio itself is never stored."
Both are accurate. Neither is a softened version.
The record
Every AI action is audited like a human's, with the actor marked as an agent, under the same tamper-evident chain. There is no path by which something happens to a chart and nobody can tell what caused it.
What usually goes wrong
Saying "the computer decided". It didn't, and saying so undersells your colleagues and misleads the patient.
Softening the recording answer. "It's just for notes" invites a follow-up you can't answer. Say plainly that the audio is never stored.
Treating the disclaimers as boilerplate. They describe what the software will and won't do.
Guessing when a patient presses. "I'll get you a proper answer" is always available, and better than an improvised one.