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Overview

Recording a conversation is regulated in every Australian state. Aria Scribe is built so that nothing is recorded, transcribed or copied out without a named person confirming that the people in the recording agreed to it. This page explains what is asked, when, and what is stored.

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Before you record

For a consult in the room or on screen, clicking Record this consult opens a window with your practice’s consent statement, for example “The patient consented to this consult being recorded.” Underneath is What this is based on (optional), pre-filled with your practice’s standing answer if it has one, such as “Consent recorded at intake”. Edit it if this consult is different. Click Confirm and record. Recording starts. Nothing is captured before that click, and there is no way past the window without confirming. Cancel records nothing at all.
This is deliberate. A browser recording plays no announcement to the patient, so your confirmation is the only record that they agreed. It is kept with the recording: who confirmed, when, and what it was based on.

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Phone calls

Your phone system may play “this call may be recorded” before every call connects. Where it does, Pear confirms that on the phone system, and calls from it are treated as consented from the moment they are recorded. You are not asked again. Where a phone system has not been confirmed, a phone consult’s note shows an amber bar asking you to confirm consent, and the note cannot be finalised or copied until you do. If you find yourself confirming on every phone note, ask Pear Support whether your phone system’s announcement can be confirmed.

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Older recordings

Consults recorded before consent was asked at the start still show the amber bar on their note. Confirm once and it is recorded.

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What is stored, and for how long

Three things come out of a recording, and they are kept for different lengths of time. Your practice chooses the periods; the defaults are set with Pear when Scribe is switched on. Phone call recordings follow the retention period set for your phone system, which may be different.

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Where things go

  • Audio is recorded in your browser and sent to Pear’s storage in Australia as it is captured.
  • Storage, transcription and note writing all run in Microsoft Azure data centres in Australia. No Aria Scribe data is processed or stored offshore. Nothing is sent to your practice software, and nothing is emailed.
  • Retention periods are deliberately short. Audio is kept only long enough to check a note against it, and then removed.
  • Consult names are left out of exports from the Scribe list, so patient names stay in the portal.
  • A note only ever reaches your practice software when a person copies and pastes it there.

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Frequently asked questions

The patient agreed verbally. Is that enough? That is a question for your practice’s policy and your state’s law, not for the portal. What the portal does is record that you, at that moment, confirmed they agreed, and what you based that on. Put “verbal, at the start of the consult” in the field if that is what happened. Can I record without consent and confirm later? Not for a consult in the room or on screen. Recording will not start. For a phone call from an unconfirmed phone system, the recording is made by the phone system, and the note asks you before anything can be finalised or copied. Who can see the consent record? Anyone who can open the note sees the green “Consent recorded for this consult” line. The name, time and basis are stored with the recording. Can consent be withdrawn? Delete the recording through your practice manager or Pear Support. The retention schedule also removes audio and, if chosen, transcripts on its own.