How to introduce an AI scribe to parents in a Malaysian clinic

Doctors often expect this to be the awkward part. In practice it is one line at the start of the visit, and most parents are glad you said it.

Say it at the start, in one breath

The version that works is short, gives a reason, and offers a choice:

"I am using a tool that helps me write the notes, so I can look at your child instead of the screen. I review and approve everything before it goes into the record. Is that alright with you?"

That is the whole script. Notice what it does:

• It leads with the benefit to them, not to you. The reason a parent cares about is that you are looking at their child.
• It keeps you accountable. You review and approve. The tool is not making decisions.
• It offers a genuine choice. A parent who says no should meet no friction. You simply switch it off for that visit.

Why most parents say yes

Parents are used to being documented. What they are not used to is a doctor who explains why, in plain language, and then keeps eye contact. The recording is not the thing they respond to. The attention is.

If a parent hesitates, it is almost always about one of two things: where the recording goes, and whether it is kept. Have a one-sentence answer ready, and mean it.

Keep consent simple, and consistent

A few practical decisions make this smooth for the whole clinic:

1. Agree the wording once, so every clinician says roughly the same thing.
2. Decide who says it when a locum or trainee runs the consultation.
3. Write down how you handle a decline, before it happens rather than after.
4. Confirm your data handling with your own adviser, and be able to state it plainly if asked.

Consent here is not a form to be signed. It is a habit of telling people what is happening with their information, which is good practice with or without a tool in the room.

The part that is not negotiable

Whatever you tell the parent, it has to be true. If you say you review every note before it is saved, then the review actually happens. That is also what the standards expect: the note is your record, and your signature is what makes it so. We go into that in the guide on reviewing an AI-generated note before you sign it.

Catat is built around that promise. It drafts, you decide, and nothing enters the record until you approve it.

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