Clinical Disclaimer

1. Vocara is not a medical device

Vocara is a clinical documentation assistance tool. It is not a medical device, clinical decision support system, or diagnostic aid as defined by the Medical Devices (Product Safety Regulations) Act 2020 or equivalent New Zealand legislation.

Vocara does not:

• Provide clinical recommendations, diagnoses, or treatment advice
• Replace the professional judgement of the treating practitioner
• Assess the clinical appropriateness of any treatment
• Verify the accuracy of information entered by the practitioner

2. AI limitations

The AI note generation feature uses a large language model to convert session transcripts into structured clinical notes. You must understand:

• AI can make errors. The AI may misinterpret, misrepresent, or omit information from the transcript. Always read the full generated note before signing.
• AI only uses what was said. Vocara is designed to generate notes only from what was explicitly stated in the session. However, it cannot independently verify clinical facts.
• AI is not a clinician. The AI does not have professional registration, clinical training, or liability. Every note it produces is a draft — not a finished clinical document.
• Transcription may not be 100% accurate. The voice-to-text transcription step may mishear words, especially clinical terminology, names, and numbers. Always cross-check the transcript.

3. ACC submission responsibility

The treating practitioner is solely responsible for:

• Reviewing and editing all AI-generated notes before use or submission
• Ensuring the clinical record is accurate and complete for ACC audit purposes
• Complying with the ACC Provider Agreement and Clinical Guidelines
• Ensuring all required ACC fields are correctly documented (claim number, NHI, injury description, functional goals, treatment rationale, session duration)
• Confirming that documented treatment duration matches time actually spent with the patient
• Signing and dating the clinical note to attribute it to the treating practitioner

Vocara does not submit documentation to ACC. The practitioner is responsible for all ACC submissions through their usual channels (Healthlink, practice management software, or ACC portal).

4. No clinical advice

Nothing produced by Vocara — including generated notes, suggested language, or any other output — constitutes clinical advice. Vocara output should never be used as the basis for clinical decision-making without independent professional review.

If you are unsure whether a generated note accurately reflects the clinical encounter, do not use it. Rewrite it from your own clinical recollection.

5. Patient consent

The Health Information Privacy Code 2020 requires that patients are informed before any health information is collected about them. Before using Vocara to record a session, the treating practitioner must obtain informed verbal consent from the patient and document that consent in the clinical record.

Vocara provides an in-app consent confirmation prompt as a reminder — but the legal and ethical responsibility for obtaining proper consent rests with the practitioner, not with Vocara.

6. Audio and data handling

Vocara uses your browser's built-in microphone access to capture session audio. This audio is processed in real-time for transcription purposes only. Audio is not stored by Vocara after transcription is complete.

The text transcript is sent to an AI service (Groq) to generate the clinical note. The transcript is processed under Groq's privacy terms and is not retained for training purposes.

Clinical notes are stored locally in your browser. Vocara does not transmit clinical note content to its own servers.

7. Professional obligations

Use of Vocara does not alter your professional obligations under:

• Your registration authority's code of conduct and standards
• The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003
• The Health Information Privacy Code 2020
• The Privacy Act 2020
• Your ACC Provider Agreement

If your professional body or ACC has specific documentation requirements, you are responsible for ensuring Vocara output meets those requirements — or for supplementing it accordingly.