Use of generative AI in consultations at The Village Medical Practice Current as of: May 2026
Commitment to innovation and safety
At The Village Medical Practice, we are dedicated to delivering a high standard of healthcare. Part of this commitment involves adopting innovative tools, including clinical-grade generative artificial intelligence (AI), to improve the accuracy, efficiency and personalisation of your care.
How AI assists your healthcare team
Generative AI acts as a “digital co-pilot” for our doctors and nurses in the following ways:
- Clinical documentation: AI tools securely transcribe and summarise consultation notes in real time. This reduces “screen time” for the clinician, allowing them to focus entirely on you during the appointment.
- Knowledge synthesis: AI helps clinicians quickly retrieve current peer-reviewed medical research and clinical guidelines relevant to your specific health needs.
- Quality assurance: AI can help identify possible medication interactions or historical health trends that may need closer clinical review, acting as an extra layer of safety.
Clinical oversight: the “human in the loop”
It is important to note that generative AI does not make medical decisions.
- Professional judgement: our clinicians review, edit and verify every AI-generated summary or suggestion before it is finalised in your medical record.
- Final accountability: your doctor or nurse keeps full responsibility and oversight for all diagnoses, treatment plans and clinical advice. AI is a supportive tool, not a replacement for human expertise.
Privacy, security and data integrity
We treat AI-processed data with the same rigorous security as your physical medical file:
- Compliance: we use only enterprise-grade AI platforms that comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and My Health Record security standards.
- Data sovereignty: we prioritise tools that process data within Australia, and we make sure your personal information is not used to “train” public AI models.
- Audio privacy: if an AI tool uses voice-to-text features, the audio is processed securely and is typically deleted once the clinical note is verified and saved, unless specific retention is required for your record.
Your rights and transparency
We believe in patient choice when it comes to new technologies:
- Notification: our team will tell you if we are using an AI documentation tool during your consultation, and will ask for your explicit written consent if we don’t already hold it.
- Opting out: you have the right to ask that AI tools are not used during your visit. Your care will not be affected by this choice.
- Access: you may ask to see any AI-generated summaries that have been added to your medical record.
Feedback and enquiries
We welcome open conversation about our use of technology. If you have questions about the AI tools we use or how your data is handled, please speak with your clinician, read our privacy policy, or contact our Business Operations Manager at hello@village-medical.com.au.