AMAV VICDOC Winter 2024 - Magazine - Page 84
It is critical that practitioners who use
consultation transcription software obtain
consent from all persons who are present
in the consultation ‒ not just the patient ‒
before using that software.
There are two main issues to consider
when using this type of consultation
transcription software:
» the need to obtain consent to the
recording of the consultation under
surveillance devices laws; and
» the collection and handling of personal
information under the Privacy Act.
SURVEILLANCE DEVICES LAWS
-
All Australian states and territories have
laws regarding the recording of private
conversations. The detail of these laws
vary by state or territory, but generally
speaking, it is a criminal offence to record
a conversation without the consent of all
of the parties to that conversation. In some
states and territories, it is also an offence
to possess, use or communicate such a
recording, or any material derived from
such a recording.
While consultation transcription software
appears to produce clinical notes of the
consultation almost immediately, it does
so by making an audio recording of the
consultation, which is sent to the servers
of the software provider. That recording is
then processed using artificial intelligence
to produce the notes, which are sent
back to the practitioner. While the audio
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recording is generally deleted soon after
that processing is complete, this process
does amount to recording a conversation,
and communicating that recording, for
the purposes of surveillance devices laws.
As such, it is critical that practitioners
who use consultation transcription software
obtain consent from all persons who are
present in the consultation — not just the
patient — before using that software.
Most States and Territories allow the
consent to be express or implied, verbal
or written. However, given that failure
to obtain consent constitutes a criminal
offence, we recommend obtaining express
written consent wherever possible.
For patients, this can be done through a
new patient form. It is fine to obtain this
consent once for all future consultations
(provided that this is made clear on the
form), but it is also important to bear in
mind that the patient can withdraw their
consent at any time, either for a particular
consultation or for all future consultations.
It may be more difficult to obtain consent
from relatives or other people who
accompany the patient in the consultation
— this is probably best doneat the start
of the consultation, before the recording
function is turned on.
