Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Walker St General Practice

Understanding How We Use AI to Improve Your Care

Our Commitment to Transparency

Walker St General Practice uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) in two ways: to help our doctors provide you with better clinical care, and to help us run our practice more efficiently. We’re committed to being transparent about how we use AI and protecting your privacy every step of the way.

Clinical AI: Medical Scribes

What Is Clinical AI?

Some of our doctors use AI-powered medical scribe technology to help create accurate, comprehensive clinical notes during your consultation. We currently use two approved AI medical scribes:

• Lyrebird Health
• Heidi Health

Both tools are designed specifically for healthcare and comply with Australian privacy laws.

How It Works

The technology is straightforward:

1. AI listens quietly in the background during your appointment
2. It creates a written transcript of the clinically relevant information
3. Your doctor reviews it carefully and makes corrections if needed
4. Your doctor approves it before it’s saved to your medical record

Your doctor is always in control. They review every single note before it goes into your medical record, and they remain fully responsible for everything in your file.

Why We Use It

This technology gives your doctor a gift: time to listen to you instead of typing.

When your doctor isn’t watching the computer screen, they can:

• Give you their full attention
• Make better clinical decisions
• Catch important details they might otherwise miss
• Spend more time on your care

How It Helps You

• Better focus – Your doctor listens instead of types
• More comprehensive notes – Nothing important gets missed
• Improved continuity of care – If you see another doctor or specialist, they have complete information
• Greater accuracy – Your medical record is precise and thorough
• Better diagnosis and treatment – More detailed notes lead to better clinical decisions

Operational AI: Business Practice Management

What Is Operational AI?

Our Business Practice Manager uses AI writing tools behind the scenes to help with administrative work, including:

• Drafting and improving letters, emails, and communications
• Developing policies and procedures
• Creating patient education materials (like information sheets and FAQs)
• Improving HR documents and templates

How It Protects You

Here’s what’s important: These tools never access your medical record or personal details.

We do not enter:

• Patient names, dates of birth, contact details
• Any health information
• Staff personal information

We use general, anonymised examples only. This means your privacy is completely protected in our operational AI use.

Privacy and Security: Your Trust Is Everything

Your Privacy Is Protected

All AI use at Walker St General Practice complies with Australian privacy laws, including:

• Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth)
• Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW)

Clinical AI: How Your Data Is Secure

For our medical scribe technology, here’s how we protect your information:

✓ Australian processing – Everything stays in Australia
✓ No audio storage – Your voice is never kept; audio is deleted immediately after transcription
✓ Sensitive information removed – Personal details are automatically redacted
✓ Bank-level encryption – 256-bit encryption (the same standard hospitals use)
✓ Only your doctor can access it – Your medical record stays confidential
✓ No third-party access – No one else can see or use your information

Operational AI: How Your Data Is Secure

When we use operational AI tools for practice management:

• We never enter identifiable patient or staff information
• We use generic examples only
• We review all outputs before using them
• We delete sensitive information if it appears in drafts
• We’re aware that some public AI tools may retain general data for improvement purposes (that’s why we never use them for identifiable information)

Patient Consent for Clinical AI

Your Choice Matters

Using AI medical scribes during your consultation is completely optional. Your care will be excellent either way.

What Informed Consent Means

When we ask for your consent, we want you to understand:

• What the technology does – It listens and creates notes that your doctor reviews
• How your privacy is protected – Australian processing, encryption, immediate audio deletion
• That your doctor reviews everything – Every note is checked and verified by your doctor
• That it’s optional – You can say yes, no, or change your mind later
• That your care won’t be affected – Either way, you’ll receive the same high-quality care

How We Get Your Consent

First time: We’ll ask you to complete a simple consent form that explains everything.

Future visits: After your first consent, we’ll remind you at future appointments. You can consent again verbally, or we can update your file.

You can change your mind anytime: Just let us know, and we’ll stop using AI for your notes.

If You Decline

No problem at all. We’ll:

• Respect your decision immediately—no pressure
• Record your choice in your medical record
• Proceed with the consultation using our standard documentation methods
• Continue providing you with excellent care
• Let you know you can change your mind at any future visit

Our Approved AI Tools

Clinical AI Tools

Tool	Purpose	Privacy Standard
Lyrebird Health	Creates clinical notes during your consultation	Australia-based, bank-level encryption
Heidi Health	Creates clinical notes during your consultation	Australia-based, bank-level encryption

Operational AI Tools

Our Practice Manager uses tools like Perplexity and Google Gemini for writing assistance. These tools follow strict guidelines: no identifiable patient or staff information enters these systems.

Training and Responsibility

What Our Doctors Do

Doctors using clinical AI must:
✓ Get your informed consent before each consultation where AI is used
✓ Review and verify every AI-generated note before saving it
✓ Correct any errors or missing information
✓ Remain fully responsible for all clinical decisions and your documentation
✓ Use only approved AI tools
✓ Report any problems immediately

What Our Business Practice Manager Does

Our Business Practice Manager must:
✓ Use only approved AI tools
✓ Review and approve all AI-assisted documents before use
✓ Never enter identifiable patient or staff information
✓ Check for accuracy (AI can make mistakes!)
✓ Ensure content aligns with our practice values
✓ Monitor regulatory changes

Your Rights

You Have the Right To:

• Know when AI is used – We’ll always tell you
• Ask questions – About the technology, how it works, or your privacy
• Consent or refuse – Without affecting your care
• Withdraw consent – At any time, without impacting your care
• Access your records – Including any AI-generated notes
• Request corrections – If information is inaccurate
• Raise concerns – About how we use AI

Questions or Concerns?

If you have concerns about how we use AI:

1. Talk to us first – Ask your doctor or our reception team
2. Email our Business Practice Manager on manager@wsgp.com.au
3. Request our full policy – We can provide our complete AI Policy from our Policy and Procedure Manual
4. Contact regulators – If you’d like to raise concerns externally:
   • Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC NSW): 1800 043 159
   • Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): 1300 363 992
   • Fair Work Commission: 1300 799 675

The Bigger Picture: How We Govern AI Responsibly

Our AI Policy

Walker St General Practice has developed a comprehensive AI Policy (Section 6.4 of our Policy and Procedure Manual) that governs:

• Which AI tools we can use (and how we evaluate them)
• How we obtain and document your consent
• How we protect your privacy and security
• How our doctors and staff use AI responsibly
• How we handle data breaches
• How we monitor emerging AI regulations
• How we ensure quality and safety

This policy is available on request at reception or on our website.

Our Commitment to You

We use AI because it genuinely improves patient care—not because it’s convenient for us.

We’re committed to:

• Transparency – You always know when AI is being used
• Safety – Your doctor reviews and approves everything
• Privacy – Your information is protected to the highest standards
• Choice – You decide whether to use AI technology
• Accountability – We take responsibility for how AI is used
• Evolution – We’ll update our practices as technology and regulations change

More Information

External Resources

• Lyrebird Health: https://www.lyrebirdhealth.com/patient
• Heidi Health: https://www.heidihealth.com/en-au/legal/privacy-policy

From Us

• Privacy Policy – See our full privacy brochure on our website
• Patient Communications Policy – Available on our website

Questions?

Ask your doctor or our reception team anytime. We’re happy to explain, answer questions, or provide more information about how we use AI.

Key Takeaways

✓ AI medical scribes help your doctor give you better care
✓ Your privacy is protected with medical-grade security
✓ Your doctor reviews and approves every note
✓ Consenting is completely optional
✓ You can change your mind at any time
✓ Your care won’t be affected by your choice
✓ We have formal policies governing how we use AI safely

Walker St General Practice

Offering quality care to enhance the health and wellbeing in our community

Last updated: March 2026. This policy is reviewed annually. The most current version is published on this website.