AI Scribe records the audio of a visit, turns it into text and lays it out across the four SOAP fields: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan. The draft waits for your review — nothing enters the record until you apply it.
This is the only AI feature in Heltio that sends material outside without de-identification. Text notes are stripped of identity markers before they leave; audio cannot be. The recording goes to the transcription service exactly as it was captured. Hence the extra conditions below.
How to do it
Accept the processing agreement on behalf of the clinic
Settings → AI Features → View disclosure. The document AI Sub-processors — Data Processing Agreement lists every provider separately, together with its region and retention rules. Speech transcription runs on Google Cloud Speech-to-Text (Google Ireland Ltd., EU region) as the primary provider, with OpenAI transcription (EU endpoint) as the fallback — used only when Heltio selects it.
Without that acceptance the server refuses to start, saying "Accept the AI data-processing disclosure before using AI Scribe."
Record the patient consent to being recorded
Open the active session and expand the AI Scribe panel. Until the patient has consented, the panel shows Audio-recording consent required. Click Record patient's consent and confirm in the dialog that the patient agreed verbally. Once saved it reads Audio-recording consent on file.
Both consents — the clinic's and the patient's — are covered step by step in Consent for AI processing.
Start recording
Pick the Recording language — Polish, English, Ukrainian or Russian. Tick The patient has verbally agreed to this recording. — only then does Start recording become active. Consent on the patient card does not replace that tick; you confirm it separately before every recording.
Next to the timer sits the Est. cost in AI credits. Transcription costs 1 credit for every minute started, and laying out the SOAP draft costs 8 credits.
Stop and wait for the draft
While recording you have Pause and Resume. You end the recording with Stop & transcribe. The longest possible recording is 90 minutes — from minute 85 the panel counts down Auto-stops in… and stops on its own, by exactly the same route as the button.
From there the panel walks through Uploading audio…, Finalizing upload… and Starting transcription…. Stay on the screen until the message "Transcription started." — until the file reaches the server, the audio lives only in the browser's memory. After that message the server takes over: in the Recording sessions list you will see Transcribing…, Drafting SOAP… and Draft ready in turn, even if you close the screen in the meantime.
Review the draft and apply it to the note
Click Review draft. Above the fields sits AI-generated draft — review before accepting. Correct Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan, and add a Note title (optional) if you want one. Show transcript reveals the raw record of the conversation.
Apply to note creates a SOAP clinical note — never signed automatically. Heltio confirms with "Draft applied to the clinical note." Discard deletes everything: the audio, the transcript and the draft.
What happens to the recording
The audio goes into Heltio's private storage — the same place clinical attachments live. The server fetches it from there and sends it to the transcription service. The resulting text comes back to us, is encrypted in the database, and only then — with the patient's name, the practitioner's name and the clinic name already masked — goes to the model that lays out the SOAP. The draft is encrypted too.
The recording disappears:
- immediately after the draft is applied to the note, or after Discard;
- after 30 days, if the draft was never applied;
- immediately after consent is withdrawn by the patient in the portal or by you in the panel.
Transcripts and drafts that were never applied are deleted after 90 days. An interrupted recording — a closed browser tab, a screen that went to sleep — is marked Failed after 24 hours, with the note "This recording was never uploaded and has expired."; in that case the audio never left the device at all.
The content of a note you have accepted stays — it is medical documentation and follows the ordinary retention rules. Every step leaves a trace in the audit log: from AI Scribe session started through AI Scribe draft applied to AI Scribe audio deleted.
When something doesn't work
Microphone access denied
What this means: The browser has no microphone permission for this site.
Recording not supported
What this means: The browser cannot record audio.
Audio upload failed. Please try again.
What this means: The connection dropped while sending the file. Heltio retried once, with a fresh address, and that failed too.
No speech was detected in the recording.
What this means: The microphone captured silence, or audio too quiet to recognise.
Not enough AI credits to transcribe this recording.
What this means: The clinic credit balance does not cover the cost of the recorded minutes.
Transcription timed out. You can retry it.
What this means: The transcription service did not answer within the allotted time.
Transcription is not configured. Contact your administrator.
What this means: The clinic has the panel enabled, but the transcription service was never wired up on the Heltio side.
Who has access
Clinic Admin PractitionerRecording, retries and applying the draft need the same permission as editing the appointment — the owner, the clinic admin and the practitioner conducting the visit have it. Reception does not, and cannot start a recording. The processing agreement is accepted by the owner or an admin only; other roles see "Only clinic owners and admins can manage AI settings."
Recording is not available in the mobile app. The screen says so outright: "Recordings are made in the web app in this version. Any sessions recorded there will appear here to review and apply."
Related
- Consent for AI processing — both consents step by step, and what happens after a withdrawal.
- AI in Heltio — an overview — which features send anything outside at all.
- AI credits and wallet — where credits come from and how to check usage.
- Clinical notes — what happens to the note after a draft is applied.
- Processors and data-processing agreements — the full provider list.
Related features
Consent for AI processing
Two consents, not one: the clinic accepts the data-processing agreement, and the patient — separately, and only for recording — agrees to the visit being recorded.
AI in Heltio — an overview
AI assistants write drafts; you decide. What they can do, what they will never do, who switches them on, and where the credits come from.
AI credits: balance, costs and history
Every AI feature draws on one clinic balance. Here is what each call costs, when credits come back, and where to see the history.
Active session — working during a visit
The screen you work on from the moment the patient walks in until they leave: the clinical note, range-of-motion measurements, the treatment plan, attachments and the summary that closes the visit.
Clinical notes, signing and amendments
Four note formats, practice templates, the 48-hour edit window, and the signature that closes an entry for good — with the amendment as the only route to changing it.