Clear information for patients
Artificial intelligence and your care
Some clinicians at Holt Medical Practice use Surgery Intellect, powered by TORTUS and accessed through the X-on Phonebar, to help prepare clinical documentation. The clinician remains responsible for your consultation, your medical record and every decision about your care.
What the technology does
Listens and transcribes
With the clinician’s activation, it can process spoken information from a face-to-face or telephone consultation.
Creates draft documentation
It can prepare draft notes, summaries, letters and suggested clinical codes for the clinician to consider.
Requires clinician approval
The clinician must review and correct the output before deciding what should be added to your medical record.
How it is used during a consultation
- You are informed. The practice provides information before and during care, and the clinician will make the use of the technology clear.
- The clinician starts the tool. It does not run by itself. The clinician chooses when to use it for an appropriate consultation.
- A draft is created. Spoken information is converted into draft documentation for the clinician.
- The clinician checks everything. They review the output for accuracy, relevance and clinical safety, make corrections and decide what is saved.
If you would prefer us not to use it
Tell the clinician at the start of your appointment, or let Reception know beforehand. You do not need to give a reason. The consultation can continue without the AI assistant.
What remains the clinician’s responsibility
Clinical decisions
The technology supports documentation. It does not replace professional judgement and is not the sole basis for clinical decisions.
Accuracy
AI-generated text can contain errors or miss context. The clinician must check and, where necessary, amend the output.
What enters your record
The clinician decides which reviewed information is relevant and appropriate to save to your medical record.
Safe use
Staff must use the system in line with practice policy, information-governance requirements and clinical-safety controls.
What happens to your information
- The system may process identity and contact details, spoken medical information, the resulting clinical summary, and technical or call information needed to operate the service.
- For transcription, consultation audio is held temporarily in the browser and transferred securely to UK-based systems for processing.
- The provider states that no cloud copy of the audio or transcript remains after processing. Information remaining in the browser session expires after 24 hours and is erased sooner if the user signs out.
- At Holt Medical Practice, telephone call recordings are retained for 30 days. This is separate from the reviewed clinical note.
- The reviewed information that the clinician approves is saved to your medical record and managed as part of that record.
- Holt Medical Practice is the data controller. X-on Health acts as processor and TORTUS AI as sub-processor for this service.
Safety and assurance
TORTUS is a UKCA-marked Class IIa software medical device registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The supplier also publishes information about its Data Security and Protection Toolkit status, Digital Technology Assessment Criteria, Cyber Essentials Plus certification and DCB0129 clinical-safety arrangements. Holt Medical Practice remains responsible for using the system safely in our own setting.
Common questions
Does AI decide what treatment I receive?
No. The clinician remains responsible for assessing you, making decisions and agreeing treatment or next steps with you.
Can the draft be wrong?
Yes. Transcription or generated text can contain errors or miss context. This is why the clinician must review and correct it before saving information to your record.
Can I ask for it not to be used?
Yes. Tell the clinician or Reception. Your consultation can continue without the AI assistant and your care will not be affected.
Where can I read the supplier’s information?
Questions, concerns or information-rights requests
Contact Holt Medical Practice through our contact page. You can also contact our Data Protection Officer, Emma Cooper at Kafico, by emailing emma.cooper@kafico.co.uk.
For independent guidance about your information rights, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website.