Because Scribe transcribes your sessions in real time, your clients will be asked to consent before transcription begins. Here's how their data is handled — and what to say when they have questions.
Data security and privacy
Scribe was designed alongside clinicians with privacy as a top priority. The entire process is managed in accordance with HIPAA.
- Scribe is not a third-party solution — it's built by the Headway team
- We partner with Anthropic and use their HIPAA-compliant models. We have a zero data retention policy with Anthropic, meaning your transcription is:
- Not stored by Anthropic
- Not used to train any AI model
- Not sold or sent outside of Headway's HIPAA-compliant infrastructure
- No audio or video recording is retained on Headway
- No patient PHI from the transcription is retained after approximately 30 days, unless required by law. Your progress note remains in the client record.
- A select group of trained Headway employees may review transcripts for accuracy during the 30-day window. In the rare event a quality concern is identified, we may retain the transcript beyond 30 days in accordance with applicable law and Headway's policies.
What happens with your session transcript
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Session transcribed in real time
During your Headway Telehealth session, audio is transcribed in real time to generate your AI-assisted note. The transcript is processed securely — we have a zero data retention policy with Anthropic, who we partner with. No audio or video recording is retained.
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Storage: Transcript enters Headway's secure system
The full transcript — including client names and session details — is stored in Headway's HIPAA-compliant infrastructure. Your progress note draft is generated and you review and edit the draft as needed before submitting.
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Days 1–30: Headway reviews for accuracy
During this window, a small group of trained Headway employees may review transcripts against your submitted note to check transcript accuracy.
What that review looks like:
- Checking that the transcript accurately reflects what was discussed compared to your submitted note
- Flagging any hallucinated or incorrect clinical details
In the rare event we identify a quality or safety concern during the course of our accuracy review, we will respond in accordance with applicable law and Headway's policies. When this occurs, we may retain the transcription for more than 30 days.
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After 30 days: Full transcript is deleted or de-identified
You choose whether a de-identified version is retained.
- If you opt in: A de-identified version with client PHI removed is retained to help improve Scribe and other Headway products and services.
- If you opt out: Your session transcript will be deleted. Your progress note will remain in the client's record.
You can opt out at any time in your Headway settings. Opting out means your full transcript is deleted after 30 days and no de-identified transcript is created — nothing is retained beyond your submitted note. You can still continue to use Scribe.
If you previously opted in and then decided to opt out, transcripts generated after you opt out will not be retained or de-identified.
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De-identification: What the de-identified version looks like
De-identified data is encrypted and handled in accordance with HIPAA and industry best practices. See an illustrative example below. Names and details are fabricated.
Before — identifiable data with PHI
Therapist (Dr. Rebecca Liu): Good to see you again, Sarah. How have things been since our last session on March 14th?
Patient (Kelsey Thompson): Honestly, rough. The breakup with Mike hit harder than I expected. I've been having a hard time sleeping, and work at the Brookline Wellesley office has been overwhelming.
Therapist (Dr. Rebecca Liu): I'm sorry to hear that. You mentioned last time that your mom, Diane, has been staying with you in your apartment on Beacon Street. Is that still helping?
Patient (Kelsey Thompson): A little. But she goes back to Tampa next week, and I'm worried about being alone. My birthday's coming up — I'll be 34 on April 2nd — and I don't really feel like celebrating.
After — de-identified data with PHI removed
[PROVIDER]: Good to see you again, [PATIENT]. How have things been since our last session?
[PATIENT]: Honestly, rough. The breakup with [PERSON] hit harder than I expected. I've been having a hard time sleeping, and work has been overwhelming.
[PROVIDER]: I'm sorry to hear that. You mentioned last time that your mom has been staying with you. Is that still helping?
[PATIENT]: A little. But she goes back to [LOCATION] next week, and I'm worried about being alone. My birthday's coming up — I'll be [AGE] on [DATE] — and I don't really feel like celebrating.
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Improving Headway products and services for providers like you
De-identified transcripts help Headway build better tools for your practice.
Example: what de-identified data helps us do
- More accurate notes — fine-tuning Scribe's generated note drafts so they better reflect how you'd write your notes
- Fewer errors — catching and reducing hallucinated or incorrect clinical details
- Expanding Scribe's capabilities — help enable Scribe to support AI transcription for intake notes, couples therapy, group therapy, and more
- Smarter matching — understanding provider style to connect clients with the right fit
- Better tools — informing future features that support your clinical workflow like personalized session prep resources and session summaries
Expand each question below for answers regarding transcripts.
A transcript is used to create your session draft and is then stored for 30 days, during which a select group of Headway employees may review the transcription for accuracy. In the rare event we identify a quality concern during the course of our accuracy review, we will respond in accordance with applicable law and Headway's policies. If this occurs, we may retain the transcription for more than 30 days.
Headway may store a de-identified version — with PHI removed — beyond that 30-day window to help us continue improving Scribe and other Headway products and offerings. Transcripts are stored in Headway's secure environment in accordance with HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices. Providers can opt out at any time in settings and continue to use Scribe as usual.
If you opt out of de-identified transcripts, we will not store any future transcripts from your sessions, and any prior transcripts tied to you will also be deleted.
De-identified means that client PHI — such as names, locations, and other identifying details — are removed as required by HIPAA.
De-identified session transcripts may be used for Headway product and services improvement and innovation purposes. No data will be sold to any third parties. Providers are able to opt out of storing de-identified transcripts at any time.
Some examples of how we'd use the data: continuously improving Scribe's accuracy and output and other Headway products and services, like more personalized session prep resources and better provider-patient matching.
What your client will see
When you turn on AI transcription for a client for the first time, they'll see a prompt before the session starts explaining:
- You'd like to use AI transcription to support your notetaking for the session
- Audio will be transcribed in real time — no audio or video is ever recorded or stored
- The transcript will be used to generate an AI-assisted progress note draft for you to review, edit, and sign
- They can decline, and transcription will remain off
Once the session starts, both you and your client will see an on-screen indicator showing whether transcription is on or off — so there's no ambiguity during the session.
After your client consents once, they won't be asked again for future sessions with you. If the same client sees a different provider on Headway, that provider would need to request consent separately.
What to tell your clients
Your clients may have questions about what happens with their session data. Here's what to share:
- No audio or video is ever recorded or stored. Audio is transcribed in real time during the session, but the recording itself is never saved.
- The transcript is used to generate your progress note draft, which you review, edit, and sign.
- Headway has a zero data retention policy with its AI partner, Anthropic. The AI model that processes the transcript does not retain any session data.
- The full transcript is deleted after 30 days. During that window, a small group of trained Headway employees may review it for accuracy.*
*If we identify a quality concern during our review, we may retain the transcript beyond 30 days in accordance with applicable law and Headway's policies.
Sample script
Before we start, I'd like to turn on AI transcription for our session — Headway will ask you to consent before it begins, and you can say no or turn it off at any time. It's completely optional.
If you consent, the session audio is transcribed in real time to help me write my progress notes, but no audio or video is recorded or stored.
The transcript is kept securely for up to 30 days so Headway can check for accuracy, then it's deleted.
I can choose whether a de-identified version — with your name and personal details removed — is kept to help improve the tool, and I can change that choice anytime.
You're only asked to consent once with me, and your care isn't affected either way.
If you'd like to share more detail with your client, you can direct them to AI-assisted notes from your telehealth sessions for a full overview.
For step-by-step instructions on using Scribe, visit Getting AI-assisted notes from your Headway Telehealth session.