As AI tools become increasingly common across health and support services, Zanda Health is encouraging practitioners to make consent, transparency and data protection central to their use.
AI-assisted tools can reduce the time spent on routine administration, from appointment reminders and billing to transcription and clinical note-taking. According to Zanda, practitioners using its BizzyAI feature spend an average of four minutes rather than 14 minutes completing each note, saving close to five hours a week.
The technology may offer clear benefits, but using it with sensitive client information also brings important responsibilities. Zanda says the starting point for any organisation should be a simple question: does the tool have access to client data?
Tools used for general tasks, such as drafting newsletters or social media posts, carry different considerations from those that record, transcribe or process information shared during a session. Where personal or clinical information is involved, clients should understand what technology is being used, what happens to their data and whether they can decline its use.
Zanda recommends that information provided to clients should clearly set out:
- which AI tools are being used and what each tool does
- how personal information is handled
- that AI does not make clinical decisions
- how clients can decline or withdraw consent.
For tools that process the content of a session, Zanda recommends including written consent within existing intake paperwork. Organisations should also check the requirements of their professional bodies and ensure their approach complies with relevant data protection legislation and sector guidance.
A further risk is ‘shadow AI’, where individual staff members begin using different AI tools without a shared organisational policy. This can lead to inconsistent consent processes, varying standards of data protection and uncertainty about where sensitive information is being processed.
Zanda advises organisations to audit the AI tools already being used and establish a consistent policy across the service. Bringing administration, documentation and communication tools together within one managed system can also make it easier to maintain oversight and apply a consistent consent process.
Zanda’s practice management platform includes BizzyAI, which supports clinical documentation and administrative tasks. The company says client data is not used to train AI models, while consent can be incorporated into the workflow before a session begins.
Zanda has also produced a free AI audit template and sample consent wording for UK practitioners. These resources provide a useful starting point, although organisations should adapt them to their own services and seek appropriate professional or legal advice where necessary.
Find out more and access the free templates at
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