AI is becoming part of everyday medical practice, helping doctors document consultations, prepare clinical correspondence & make better use of practice information.

But before introducing AI into your practice, there’s an important question to ask: What happens to your patients’ confidential information when you use it?

Not all AI tools handle information in the same way. Here are five questions worth asking before trusting any AI solution with your practice or patient data.

1. Is my patient data being used to train AI models?

Why it matters: When you enter information into an AI tool, is it used only to complete your request, or could it also be retained & used to train the underlying AI model?

This matters particularly when working with identifiable patient information, medical histories or clinical notes. You shouldn’t assume that a general-purpose AI tool has the same privacy protections as one developed for healthcare.

The Healthbridge approach: Practice Agent, Nora & Clinical Assistant use generative AI to help doctors work with clinical & practice information. While some of the functionality may feel familiar to anyone who has used ChatGPT or Claude, patient & practice data is never used to train AI models. Healthbridge has strict security controls in place to prevent this.

2. Where does my patient information go?

Why it matters: When you use AI, patient information may be processed or stored outside South Africa. You need to know where that information goes, who handles it & how it’s protected.

POPIA permits cross-border transfers of personal information, provided the relevant legal requirements are met.

The Healthbridge approach: Practice Agent runs in Healthbridge’s Google Cloud environment, hosted in Europe. Patient information is processed within this environment & is not sent to tools outside Healthbridge’s control.

3. Who can access my patients’ information?

Why it matters: Patient records should only be accessible to authorised users. If several practices use the same technology platform, each practice’s information must remain private.

The Healthbridge approach: Practice Agent uses the doctor’s existing Healthbridge Clinical login. Every request is linked to the practice’s unique number & account ID, so users can only access information belonging to their practice.

These restrictions are built into the system, preventing one practice from viewing another’s patient records. Any preferences saved by Practice Agent are also linked to the relevant practice & user, with a record of who saved them & when.

4. Am I still in control of what AI does?

Why it matters: The Health Professions Council of South Africa’s (HPCSA) Ethical Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (Booklet 20, 2025) make it clear that doctors remain responsible for clinical decisions, even when using AI.

That means checking AI-generated notes, summaries & recommendations for accuracy, & understanding where the technology may fall short.

The Healthbridge approach: Practice Agent can draft patient messages, but nothing is sent without the doctor’s approval. Before sending, it also checks patient consent & verifies that the message is linked to the correct patient record.

Nora & Clinical Assistant help prepare clinical notes & correspondence, which doctors can review & edit before using them.

5. Is it safe to use a general-purpose AI tool in my practice?

Why it matters: ChatGPT, Claude & similar tools can be useful for everyday work, but entering confidential patient information into them requires particular care.

Depending on the service, account settings & privacy terms, information you share may be stored or processed in ways that aren’t suitable for medical records. Before using any AI application for clinical work, you need to understand what happens to the information you enter & whether the tool meets your legal & professional obligations.

The Healthbridge approach: Nora, Clinical Assistant & Practice Agent are built into Healthbridge Clinical, so doctors can use AI without copying patient information into an external chatbot.

Nora helps prepare consultation notes, Clinical Assistant supports clinical documentation & correspondence, & Practice Agent lets doctors ask questions about their own practice information using natural-language prompts.

These tools are available within the clinical system doctors already use, with Practice Agent operating under their existing login & practice permissions.

What bbout POPIA & your professional obligations?

Protecting patient information is a legal & professional responsibility, whether you’re using AI or any other technology in your practice.

Under POPIA, medical practices must ensure that sensitive patient information is handled lawfully & securely. The practice generally acts as the responsible party, while a provider such as Healthbridge acts as an operator when processing patient information on the practice’s behalf.

The HPCSA’s AI guidelines add important ethical considerations, including patient confidentiality, transparency, informed consent & professional accountability.

Patients should be appropriately informed when AI is used in their care, particularly where it contributes to diagnosis or treatment decisions. Doctors must also respect patients’ choices & understand the limitations of the tools they use.

These responsibilities don’t disappear when a practice adopts AI. They make it important to choose technology providers that can explain clearly how they handle patient information & support responsible clinical use.

Choose AI you can trust with patient information

AI can help reduce the time doctors spend on documentation, correspondence & other administrative work. But before adopting a tool, it’s worth understanding exactly what happens to the information it uses.

Ask where your data goes, who can access it, whether it’s used to train AI models & how much control you retain over the results.

The answers should give you confidence that the technology is appropriate for your practice & the patients who trust you with their information.

Want to explore AI designed for private practice? Speak to an experienced Healthbridge Business Consultant about Nora, Clinical Assistant & Practice Agent, & how they can support your clinical workflows.