54 / 1225

Melbourne psychiatrist refuses new patients who don’t consent to AI note-taking

TL;DR

A Melbourne psychiatrist is refusing to take on new patients unless they consent to having sessions transcribed by an AI scribe. The registration form makes clear: no AI consent, no appointment — go find another provider. AI note-taking is spreading fast in healthcare, with two in five Australian GPs now using such tools, according to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

Nauti's Take

Promising move: AI scribes save doctors real hours and can lift the quality of clinical notes — a concrete benefit for stretched practices and the patients waiting in their queues. The risk: making AI consent a precondition for treatment quietly shifts power against patients, especially those in crisis who can't shop around.

The smart middle path is a genuine opt-out plus airtight data-protection guarantees.

Sources