An AI scribe consent form should say that the visit is recorded, that an AI tool drafts the note, who sees the audio, how long it is kept, and that the patient can refuse and still be seen. State laws matter: about ten states require every participant's consent to record a private conversation, and a few more for phone calls.
The safe move is one form, used everywhere, that meets the strictest state rule. That way a clinic with one patient on a video call from Florida and another in the chair follows the same routine, and nobody at the front desk has to work out which statute applies. Treat the wording here as practical guidance rather than legal advice, and have a healthcare lawyer read your final version.
Two separate laws sit behind one form
Clinics often blur two questions. The first is whether the clinic may use a vendor to process health information at all. That is a privacy-law and contract question: a business associate agreement with the vendor, minimum necessary access, and a notice of privacy practices that covers it. I cover that side in the HIPAA and BAA checklist, so it is not repeated here.
The second question is whether recording a conversation is lawful in the first place. That is the job of state eavesdropping and wiretap statutes, plus a federal law (18 U.S.C. section 2511(2)(d)) that sets a one-party floor: a person who is a party to the conversation, or who has one party's prior consent, may record it. Those statutes do not care that the recording is for healthcare. They care about who agreed. An AI scribe that listens to the room is a recording device in the eyes of those laws even if the audio is deleted within minutes.
A consent form works for both questions. It tells the patient what will happen with their information, and it records that the people in the conversation agreed to be recorded. Keeping those two purposes in mind makes the template below easier to write, because each sentence has a job.
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Buy nowOne-party and all-party states in plain terms
In a one-party consent state, a recording is lawful if at least one participant agrees. A clinician who is in the visit and starts the scribe has already given that consent. In an all-party (sometimes called two-party) state, every participant to a confidential conversation must agree, so the patient's consent is a legal requirement, not just good manners.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press keeps a state-by-state guide that I checked for this tutorial. Its pages describe all-party consent for confidential conversations in the states below. The list is a starting point, because statutes get amended and courts interpret them differently for in-person and phone conversations.
| Treat as all-party | Notes from the guide |
|---|---|
| California | All parties to a confidential communication must agree; the law excludes places where you could reasonably expect to be overheard. |
| Florida | All-party for confidential communications, including phone and electronic. |
| Illinois | All parties must consent to recording a private oral conversation. |
| Maryland | The wiretap act requires consent of all parties to a private conversation. |
| Massachusetts | All parties must consent to recording an in-person conversation; the guide notes the law targets secret recordings, so it is not breached when everyone knows the recording is happening. |
| Montana | Unlawful to record by hidden device without the knowledge of all parties; the exceptions listed include people who were given a warning of the recording. |
| New Hampshire | Consent of all parties where people reasonably expect they are not being recorded. |
| Pennsylvania | Consent of all parties required to record an in-person conversation; courts have found consent where people knew, or should have known, they were being recorded. |
| Washington | Consent of all parties, which can be given by a reasonably effective recorded announcement. |
| Delaware | The state's own laws conflict, so the guide advises following the stricter rule and asking everyone. |
Several other states, among them Connecticut, Nevada, Michigan and Oregon, have rules that change with the setting (in person, phone, third-party recording) or that courts have read differently from the text. Do not file these under "fine". Put them under "ask a lawyer", or simply apply the all-party standard in every state. The guide's summaries show why: Connecticut and Nevada are described as one-party for in-person conversations but all-party for phone calls, which catches a clinic that does follow-ups by phone; Michigan's courts disagree about whether a participant may record without the others' permission; and Oregon's old rule that everyone in an in-person conversation be "specifically informed" was struck down by a federal appeals court in July 2023. Most other states follow the federal one-party baseline.
The Washington, Massachusetts, Montana and Pennsylvania entries point the same way for clinics: in each, the guide ties lawful recording to people knowing about it, and in Washington consent can come from a reasonably effective recorded announcement. That tells you something useful about how to write the script, because a clear spoken notice at the start of the visit, captured on the recording itself, is a recognised way to show the patient was told.
Why the clinician's own consent does not settle it
A common shortcut says "I'm in the conversation, so I can consent for myself". In a one-party state that is true. In an all-party state it is not enough, because the patient is also a party. A few extra situations trip clinics up.
- A relative or carer in the room. Their voice is captured too. Treat them as participants who need to agree.
- Telehealth across a state line. The clinic may sit in a one-party state while the patient sits in an all-party one. Courts and statutes disagree about which law governs, so the stricter rule is the cheap way to stay safe.
- An interpreter. A third voice on the line or in the room is another participant.
- A patient who consented once and changes their mind. Consent is not a one-time permanent permission. Your process needs a withdrawal route.
- Staff walking in. A nurse or a student on placement who speaks during the visit becomes part of the recording.
The practical answer is the same each time: ask everyone who might speak, at the start, and give each of them a real way to decline.
A filled-in consent form you can adapt
Here is wording for a small physiotherapy clinic, written in plain words a 12-year-old could follow. Change the bracketed parts. The form is illustrative and your lawyer should adjust it for your state and your vendor.
CONSENT TO USE AN AI NOTE-TAKING TOOL
[Clinic name] uses an AI tool to help write your clinical notes.
What happens
- With your permission, we record the conversation during your
visit (in the room or on video) using [tool name].
- The tool turns the recording into a written draft note.
- Your clinician reads, corrects and approves the note before it
goes into your record. The AI does not make treatment decisions.
Who sees it
- Your clinician and the clinic staff who need it for your care.
- [Tool vendor], which processes the recording for us under a
written agreement that limits how it may use your information.
- The vendor does not use your recording to train its AI models.
[Confirm this against the vendor's current terms before keeping this line.]
How long we keep it
- The audio is deleted [immediately after the note is created /
after __ days]. The approved note stays in your medical record
for the period the law requires.
Your choices
- You can say no. If you do, your care is exactly the same and your
clinician will write the note by hand or by typing.
- You can change your mind at any time, including during a visit.
Tell your clinician and we will stop recording.
- Anyone else who joins your visit (such as a family member or
interpreter) will also be asked to agree.
I agree to the recording of my visits for this purpose:
[ ] Yes, for all visits until I withdraw
[ ] Yes, for today's visit only
[ ] No, please do not record
Name: ______________ Date: ______________
Signature or electronic acceptance: ______________
If signed for someone else, relationship: ______________Three details in that form carry weight. The "same care either way" line removes the pressure that makes consent less than free. The "all visits until I withdraw" tick-box saves staff from collecting a signature each visit, and the "today only" option helps patients who are nervous about commitment. The sentence about other people in the room closes the all-party gap without needing a separate form.
The spoken version that goes on the recording
A form signed at intake is not the whole story. Patients forget, and a visit may include a new person. Many clinics add a short verbal check at the start of each visit. Because the scribe is already listening, the check can live on the recording itself. That fits the Washington guidance on a recorded announcement.
"Before we start: I use an AI tool that records our conversation
and drafts my notes. I read and fix every note myself. The audio
is deleted [when the note is ready]. Is it all right with you
that I record today? And [name of relative], are you comfortable
with that too? You can say no and I'll type instead, and you can
ask me to stop at any point."If the answer is no, the clinician does not press start. If the scribe is already running because the patient was checked in earlier, pause it before asking. Then add a line in the chart: "Verbal consent for AI scribe confirmed [date]" or "Declined, note typed". That entry is your proof that the process happened.
What the opt-out looks like in a real clinic
An opt-out only counts if declining is easy. If the patient has to explain themselves, or the clinician sighs because the note will now take longer, the consent was not freely given. Build the non-AI route so it is boring and ready.
- Flag at check-in. The front desk marks "no AI scribe" on the schedule so the clinician sees it before calling the patient in.
- Keep a typing template. The same note headings the scribe fills in should exist as a plain template, so the clinician is not starting from a blank page.
- Offer dictation after the visit. Some scribes let the clinician dictate a summary after the patient leaves, which records only the clinician. Jane's help centre, for example, says you can use its scribe without recording a session, either by dictating afterwards or by typing a note and using its Highlight to Refine tool to revise it. Check that your tool offers something similar and that the dictation path is covered by your policy.
- Never penalise a no. No extra waiting, no shorter slot, no change in tone.
- Log it. Record the decision and the date so the next clinician does not ask again.
The "dictate afterwards" route deserves a legal check of its own. If the clinician dictates what they remember, the patient's voice is not captured, so recording consent does not arise, but the data-handling duties still apply. Ask your lawyer to confirm.
What the vendor has to tell you, so the form stays true
Your form makes promises about audio retention and model training. The vendor decides whether you can keep them. Before the form goes live, compare each promise with the vendor's own settings and terms. A few examples from vendor pages checked for this tutorial:
| Tool | What its page says | What your form can then say |
|---|---|---|
| Jane (AI Scribe) | Clinic-wide deletion policy with three choices: keep indefinitely, delete immediately after the draft is generated, or delete after a set number of days. The help guide says the default after you enable the scribe is to delete immediately. Deleted recordings stay in secure backups for a week. Jane says data is not used to train AI models. | Name your chosen option and mention the backup week if you want to be exact. |
| Mentalyc | Audio-only capture, with audio deleted once the note is ready; transcripts and notes stay until you delete them, which you can do at any time. Its security page says every account is covered by its BAA and offers a client consent template. | "Audio is deleted when the note is created." |
| Heidi | Free plan listed with unlimited AI documentation. Its HIPAA page says a BAA is available to every covered entity and that data is hosted in the US, and its pricing FAQ says it does not train models on patient data. The pages I read did not state how long audio is kept. | The no-training line, once you have the BAA. Ask Heidi in writing about audio retention before you write a deletion line. |
Where a vendor's page and a salesperson disagree, use the written terms. If a line on your form says "the vendor does not use your recording to train its models" and you cannot point to that clause, take the line out. A false promise on a consent form is worse than a shorter form.
Five situations to rehearse with your team
Staff remember stories better than rules. Run these through a short team meeting and agree the answer for each before the first live visit.
The child and the parent. A parent brings a ten-year-old for a dental check-up. The parent consents on behalf of the child, and the clinician speaks to both. The form needs a "signed for someone else" line, and the verbal script should be directed at the parent. For older teenagers, state rules about who can consent differ, so ask your lawyer.
The patient who withdraws mid-visit. Halfway through a physiotherapy assessment the patient mentions something deeply private and asks you to switch the tool off. The clinician stops it, tells the patient it is off, and finishes the note by typing. The chart entry reads "AI scribe stopped at patient request, [time]". Check what the tool does with the partial recording, and be ready to say so. In Jane, for instance, the help guide says a recording started from the Chart tab that has not yet been connected to a chart entry is not covered by the deletion policy and stays saved until a summary is generated, so someone has to delete it by hand.
The telehealth patient who is travelling. The patient is on a video call from a hotel in another state. You ask for consent at the start, on the recording, and confirm which state they are in. If you cannot confirm, you apply the stricter standard.
The shared waiting-room conversation. A clinician uses a phone scribe at the front desk to capture a quick triage chat while other patients are queuing. The scribe may capture people who never agreed. Move the conversation, or use a room-based tool with a closed door, and keep the device away from open areas.
The student on placement. A student joins a session and asks the patient questions. The student is now a speaker. The clinician introduces them in the verbal check and asks the patient whether they are comfortable. If the student is not part of the consent, switch the scribe off or exclude them from the room.
Quick numbers for a six-clinician practice
Say a dental practice with six clinicians sees 16 patients each a day, which is 96 visits. A verbal check takes about 15 seconds, so 24 minutes of clinician time across the whole practice per day. That sounds like a cost, but it is the price of a form that holds up. Set it against the time the scribe saves: if each note takes two minutes less to finish, that is 192 minutes saved on the same 96 visits, so the check eats roughly an eighth of the saving. These figures are illustrative; time your own visits during a trial.
Now count the opt-outs. If 4 in every 100 patients decline, that is about four visits a day on the non-AI route. If a typed note takes eight minutes where a reviewed draft takes six, the extra cost is around eight minutes a day, still far under the time saved. If your decline rate is closer to 30 per cent, the case for the tool gets weaker, and that deserves attention in your trial review rather than a push to persuade patients.
A consent log that a stranger could audit
When a patient, an insurer or a regulator asks "did you get permission?", the answer has to be findable in under a minute. A simple log kept in the practice system, or a spreadsheet if that is all you have, does the job. Here is what a filled-in extract might look like for a small clinic (illustrative entries, no real patients).
| Patient ID | Form signed | Scope | Verbal check | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P-1041 | 3 Mar | All visits | Every visit, noted in chart | Active |
| P-1187 | 12 Mar | Today only | Asked again 26 Mar, agreed | Active, ask each time |
| P-1203 | 15 Mar | Declined | Notes typed | Opted out, flag on schedule |
| P-0988 | 2 Feb | All visits | Withdrew 9 Apr, in person | Withdrawn, tool setting off |
The last row is the one that fails most often. A patient says "please stop" and the message reaches the clinician in the room but never the schedule. Give withdrawal a single owner, for instance the practice manager, and a same-day rule for updating the flag. Review the log monthly during the first quarter: count active consents, declines and withdrawals, and note any visit where a recording happened without a matching entry. One missed entry is a training point. A pattern of them means the process is too hard to follow.
Where a lawyer needs to look before you go live
Bring the lawyer a short list instead of the whole tutorial. Ask them to answer these in writing:
- Which states do our patients attend from, including telehealth, and which recording rule applies to each?
- Does our form, plus the verbal check, satisfy the strictest of those states?
- Does our notice of privacy practices need updating to mention AI processing?
- Is our written agreement with the vendor in place, and does it cover audio, transcripts and any subcontractors?
- What is our retention period for the note versus the audio?
- Who may consent for minors, adults lacking capacity and patients with an interpreter?
- If a patient complains or a regulator asks, what records can we produce?
If you would like help turning those answers into front-desk steps, that is the kind of thing my AI implementation consultation can map with you on a 1:1 call. The legal opinion itself has to come from your lawyer.
How to check the process works after the first fortnight
Pull twenty charts from the first two weeks and look for four things: a consent entry in each, a decline logged where relevant, the deletion setting matching the form, and no recordings of declined visits sitting in the tool. Ask two front-desk staff to describe the opt-out without looking at the policy. If they cannot, simplify the steps rather than retraining indefinitely. For ideas on introducing the tool to patients in the first place, see how to roll out a scribe without losing patient trust, and for the vendor side, the audio, retention and BAA question list.
Questions clinics ask before they print the form
Does a signed form need renewing every visit?
Not necessarily. Many clinics collect written consent once at intake and confirm it verbally at each visit, because a patient who agreed in March may not want to be recorded in June. Whatever you choose, write the rule down, log withdrawals straight away and make sure the front desk can see them.
Can I record without consent if I only keep the transcript?
No, that is not a safe assumption. In all-party states the act of recording a confidential conversation is what the law targets, not what you keep afterwards. If the tool listens, treat it as recording. Deleting the audio quickly helps with privacy, but it does not replace asking.
What if a patient says yes but the relative in the room says no?
Treat it as a no for that visit. In an all-party state, every person whose voice is captured may need to agree, and you cannot tell the tool to ignore one speaker. Offer to pause the scribe, dictate afterwards or type the note, and record that you did.
Do telehealth visits follow the clinic's state or the patient's?
Assume the stricter of the two until a lawyer tells you otherwise. If you are in a one-party state and the patient is in an all-party state, your clinic could be exposed. Ask for consent from everyone on every virtual visit and keep the form identical across states.
Is the vendor responsible for getting consent?
Vendors supply tools such as intake-form fields or consent templates, but the clinic is the one in the room with the patient. Their terms usually put the duty to inform and obtain consent on you, so read the clause and keep your own records.
Further reads
- AI Scribes for Doctors: Six Note Errors to Catch Before You Sign — What to catch in a draft note before you sign it.
- AI Scribe Patient Consent: Implied or Explicit for UK Clinics? — See how consent is framed in a very different legal setting.
- AI Scribe for Medical Practices: Pick by Country and EHR — Choosing a scribe once the consent routine is settled.
- Veterinary AI Scribe: Client Consent Wording for Recorded Consults — Consent wording for a different setting, where owners consent for pets.
- Heidi Health for Dentists: Setup, Templates and Patient Consent — A worked consent setup inside one scribe tool, for dental teams.
- AI Scribe for Psychologists: Notes, Reports and Consent Checks — Extra consent steps when sessions contain sensitive therapy content.
- AI Scribe for Counsellors: A Safe Trial Plan With Consent and Opt-Out — A trial protocol built around written consent and opt-out.
- AI Charting for Dietitians: Drafting ADIME Notes With a Review Step — Draft Assessment, Diagnosis, Intervention and Monitoring notes with AI, then check each line before it enters the record.
- AI Scribe for Audiology: Fitting Notes, Counselling and Consent — Four AI scribes compared for fitting appointments, with filled-in fitting and counselling notes and consent wording for patients who struggle to hear.
- AI Scribe for Chiropractors: Chiro Tools vs Heidi and Jane — Chiro-specific scribes against Heidi and Jane for SOAP notes, with prices, a 90-second review routine and the payer documentation points a scribe can miss.
- AI Scribe for Optometrists: Exam Notes, Templates and a Test Plan — AI scribes for eye-exam notes compared by how they reach your EHR, with a filled exam template, consent wording and a two-week test plan.
- AI for Psych Providers: Telehealth Consent Forms and Reminders — Draft a telehealth consent form with AI as a first draft, then run it through named clinician and legal review steps before use.
- Best AI for Paediatricians: Vaccine Recalls and School Forms — Build a vaccine recall list, letter templates and a school and camp form queue with AI, keeping parent data safe and symptom advice out.
- AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.
Sources: the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press state-by-state recording guide (state pages read 4 November 2026); 18 U.S.C. 2511 on the Cornell Legal Information Institute site; Jane App help guides on AI Scribe deletion policy and using the scribe without recording; Mentalyc pricing and security pages; Heidi pricing and HIPAA pages.