New Guidance Released On Use Of AI Scribes By Health Information Custodians

On January 28, 2026, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) released new guidance, titled AI Scribes: Key Considerations for the Health Sector (the Guidance) to support the responsible adoption of AI scribes in the health sector.

As described in the Guidance, an “AI scribe” is an artificial intelligence (AI) transcription tool that uses speech recognition and natural language processing to create summaries of patient visits. Some AI scribes can also generate reports, referral letters and written communications to patients. The Guidance outlines key privacy-related considerations for health information custodians who develop, procure, and use AI scribes to transcribe and generate medical notes and summaries.

Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) sets out rules governing the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information by custodians. These obligations also apply to the use of AI systems, including AI scribes. The Guidance recommends that custodians implement robust governance and accountability frameworks to ensure compliance with PHIPA when AI scribes are used to collect, use or disclose personal health information.

According to the IPC, the governance and accountability framework should include, among other things: AI governance committees to oversee the use of AI systems; a framework for monitoring and assessing risks associated with the AI systems; clear criteria for when privacy impact assessments should be conducted; and appropriate security safeguards to protect personal health information.

Beyond governance measures, the Guidance outlines more detailed expectations tailored to custodians’ specific roles as developers, procurers or users of AI systems. These role-based considerations address issues such as the accuracy of the AI models, bias, consent considerations and contractual safeguards.

Overall, the Guidance is meant to align with the IPC and Ontario Human Rights Commission’s previously published joint principles for the responsible use of AI (as previously reported by the E-TIPS® Newsletter here). In addition, the IPC released a companion checklist to assist with the practical application of the Guidance.

The full Guidance is available here and its companion checklist is available here.

Summary By: Victoria Di Felice