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Hey australians, do you hate AI? Do you see healthcare professionals?
It's time to email the reception of literally every single person you see that is covered by AHPRA to ask if they record or your sessions (!!!!) so a shitty AI service can create notes for them.
One of the most prevalent is called 'Heidi AI'. They operate internationally just FYI. They're also not the only company.
If you email reception something like:
'Can you please clarify whether Heidi or other AI transcription or session note services are used at this practice/by <doctor name>?
Please put on my file that I DO NOT CONSENT to Heidi or any other AI services of any kind, including recording, transcription, note taking, or summary service to be used for my appointments under any circumstances.'
If they suggest (or confirm) they've been using it or services like it without explicitly asking for your consent, report them to AHPRA. It's not something that's going to get them struck off, or even disciplined at all, but letting AHPRA know that you support their views on AI and ethics is important! Letting the registration boards know that patients do not support this shit being used without even asking is an issue important to you. Letting AHPRA keep a note on file that the particular providers don't ask for consent before deeply invading their patients' privacy is helpful.
AHPRA has very clear (and correct!) opinions that healthcare staff need to be clear and ask consent before using these products.
Here's AHPRA's page about professional ethics and AI:
If the healthcare providers try to rebut with how good it is, how safe your data is, or that everything is stored on australian servers, tell them to get fucked. Seriously, tell them tumblr user frenchtugboat will personally fucking kneecap them. I absolutely fucking will, with exploding hammers and all that as the joke goes. As an australian software dev who has worked in the regulatory spheres of education, finance, and now healthcare, BY FUCKING LAW our data has to be stored on australian servers. It's also totally meaningless where the servers are (I won't rant about it here but it doesn't really make a fucking difference). Just FYI, a first name (ya know, the name you're most likely to share with other people) and a post code is enough to be able to link 'anonymised' and 'pseudonymised' data with you, that's without the deeply personal and identifying shit you may discuss with your psychiatrist, psychologist, or GP. Date of birth, gender, and post code is another winning combo that I guarantee your health providers' have on file associated with these AI services' data. There is no way for this data that is transmitted and stored (which it generally must be in education/finance/health, for years years, by law) to be actually properly anonymous. It is simply not possible. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either a fucking idiot or is a fucking idiot who is lying to you. Seriously, this shit is not fucking safe.
They get these talking points from the product website/materials like those of Heidi which repeatedly insist in their marketing to healthcare professionals that you don't actually need to get patient/client consent to use their product. These people have no fucking clue what they're talking about; they're just repeating the talking points they've been fed. If you get an interesting rebuttal to which you don't know how to respond, hit me up and I'll help you understand it. 'No' or 'I fucking told you I don't fucking consent you fucking dolt whose decade plus of post-secondary education has been a shameful shambolic fucking waste' are complete sentences regardless. I know it's damn near impossible out there with essentially nobody bull billing (thanks to medicare rebate freezes! Another thing used to justify the use of these bullshit services!) or finally finding a psychiatrist who isn't kinda brain dead, but please, drop a line to AHPRA to let them know if it has been used without you being notified let alone actually asking for your fucking consent.
tl;dr your doctors etc. are probably using privacy invading AI slop and you should report them to AHPRA if they do
