Overview
- NHS England is urging organisations to use a new national list of ambient voice tools that transcribe consultations and generate draft clinical notes.
- The registry is self-certified and requires evidence of compliance with standards covering clinical safety, technology and data protection.
- NHS guidance highlights potential time savings of two to three minutes per consultation, freeing clinicians to spend more time with patients.
- An NHS-sponsored study across nine London sites and over 17,000 encounters found 23.5% more direct patient time, 8.2% shorter appointments, and a 13.4% increase in A&E patients seen per shift.
- The list is not a procurement framework, so purchasing remains with individual NHS bodies under local governance, following earlier caution on unregulated tools.