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What federal and provincial laws say about recording clinical visits in Canada, and how to get consent. Who this is for: Clinicians in Canada · Plans: All plans · Where: AI Scribe This article is general information, not legal advice. Check with your clinic’s Privacy Officer or legal counsel. Under the Criminal Code of Canada (Section 184), Canada is a one-party consent country. A conversation can be legally recorded if at least one person in it consents, so a clinician can record their own interaction with a patient under criminal law. This doesn’t override healthcare privacy obligations. Recording a visit is collecting personal health information (PHI), and provincial privacy laws apply:
  • Ontario: PHIPA (Personal Health Information Protection Act). Requires patient consent to collect PHI, including by recording.
  • Alberta: HIA (Health Information Act). Requires express or implied consent to collect health information.
  • British Columbia: PIPA (Personal Information Protection Act). Consent is required to collect and use personal information.
  • Quebec: Private Sector Privacy Act. Clear consent is required to collect any identifiable information.
Bottom line: verbal or written consent from the patient is typically required, even if you’re part of the conversation.

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Best practices with AI Scribe

1

Tell the patient at the start of the visit that the conversation will be recorded for documentation.

2

Get verbal consent, for example: "To help me focus on your care and document accurately, I'll be using a secure AI tool to transcribe our conversation. Is that okay with you?"

3

Document the consent in the visit note if your clinic's policy requires it.

4

Include written consent in your intake forms when possible.

Consent to Record Visits for Documentation I understand that my healthcare provider may record my visit using a secure tool to create accurate clinical documentation. The recording is used solely to generate my medical note and is protected under applicable privacy laws. ☐ I consent to the recording of my visit for documentation purposes.

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How Chartnote protects recordings

  • Recordings and notes are processed on HIPAA- and PIPEDA-compliant infrastructure, and our AI vendors are under zero data retention agreements.
  • Data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
  • No identifiable information is used for training or shared with third parties.
  • You can delete notes at any time. Deleted notes go to the Trash for 30 days, then they’re permanently deleted.
  • You can set one retention policy that automatically deletes notes, audio and transcripts after 1 to 90 days. See Set note retention and automatic deletion.
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Applies to Chartnote 3.0