AI scribes are here. But is Australian healthcare ready for them?
By Michael Dyson (pictured), VP of Sales, APAC, SOTI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the Australian healthcare industry. The merging of AI and medicine is unfolding before our eyes, with the ability to improve the way we diagnose diseases, personalise patient care and prescribe treatments. Medical administration is one of the latest areas to benefit from rapid AI adoption. AI scribes, software that listens to doctor-patient conversations and produces clinical summaries, are being introduced to reduce admin time and ease the strain on our healthcare system. In fact, according to the Australian Medical Association (AMA), nearly one-in-four GPs nationally are believed to be using AI for note-taking.
While there are many benefits of implementing AI to alleviate the time and pressure of administrative tasks in healthcare, with closer examination, there’s a concerning absence of the infrastructure required to securely deliver these desired outcomes. Recent reporting from the ABC has also raised legitimate questions about the accuracy of AI scribes and the potential for serious data breaches, stating that there needs to be advanced and robust safeguards in place, such as strong IT security, encryption and secure data storage.
New research from SOTI’s report, Healthcare’s Digital Dilemma: Calculated Risks and Hidden Challenges Exposed, shows that data security concerns in Australia have nearly doubled, jumping from 19% in 2024 to 35% in 2025. Compounding the issue, 85% of Australian healthcare organisations are concerned about the security of patient data when disposing of mobile devices, and it becomes clear that the foundations for safe AI use are far from solid. With 99% of Australian healthcare organisations reported to still rely on legacy systems, 53% of IT decision-makers say these outdated technologies leave them vulnerable to security attacks. This suggests many providers lack the safeguards needed to implement AI scribes safely without increasing the risk of data breaches.
AI is Outpacing the System
Unfortunately, mobile security is only one part of the problem. The core systems that underpin AI scribes, Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), are said to present more challenges than advantages for healthcare organizations. Around 80% reported that adopting and integrating EMRs has been a major challenge. That figure climbs to 100% for telehealth providers.
Even Australia’s national digital health database, My Health Record, is undergoing a mid-overhaul, with the government paying Accenture $51.7 million to keep it running during the transition to a modernised platform. If the very systems designed to centralise and share patient information are still being rebuilt, plugging AI scribes prematurely could risk the accuracy and security of patient data.
In telehealth, where AI usage is almost universal, the risks are even greater. SOTI’s report discovered that every telehealth provider surveyed had experienced data breaches from outside sources. When clinicians are relying on mobile devices and third-party software to manage care remotely, security should be watertight. However, many providers still lack the tools to keep those environments secure.
While most healthcare organisations utilise Mobile Device Management (MDM), many are not confident they can meet the current demands for visibility, compliance and security. Approximately three-quarters of healthcare organisations currently have MDM platforms in place, but that figure drops to around 70% for telehealth providers, despite their heavy reliance on mobile technology to work remotely. What’s missing is true Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), a more comprehensive, secure and scalable solution.
This shortfall in mobility management is even more concerning given that 81% of organisations are using AI tools, including AI scribes, to update records or manage administrative tasks, but only 34% are prioritising AI-specific security measures for those mobile environments. Modern EMM platforms address this by combining centralised device management with real-time diagnostics, enabling IT teams to maintain visibility, enforce consistent protocols, resolve issues remotely and secure AI applications at scale.
Laying The Right Foundation
Of course, AI scribes are not the enemy here. Used well, they have the ability to free up clinician time and reduce burnout. But without proper data governance, integration with reliable EMRs, and robust EMM in place, they risk becoming just another layer of digital clutter. Or worse, another point of vulnerability.
There are also broader questions to ask too. Who owns the data that AI scribes collect? What happens if a tool “hallucinates” and writes an incorrect medical note that introduces errors into a patient record? If that data is not easily verifiable or accessible through the EMR system, what recourse do clinicians have? These questions aren’t hypothetical; they raise critical concerns about whether our systems, safeguards and infrastructure are ready to handle the demands and consequences of running AI scribes in healthcare.
Strengthening The System
Australia is not short on ambition when it comes to tackling these concerns. In the 2025-2026 budget, an additional $228.7 million was invested into digital health infrastructure, showing that the government is willing to fund reform. Alongside this, the Therapeutic Goods Administration is actively considering whether AI scribes should be regulated as medical devices, and professional bodies like The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) have released guidance on responsible AI use in healthcare.
But guidance and funding are not enough on their own. What Australia needs is a coordinated national strategy that ensures new technologies like AI scribes are introduced into systems that are secure, standardised and interoperable. That means ensuring EMRs are not siloed or outdated, and that mobility management goes beyond basic device oversight. EMM should be treated not as a nice-to-have, but as a critical layer of digital healthcare delivery, providing the visibility, security and control needed to manage mobile devices, applications and data at scale. It’s crucial that we recognise that technology is only as good as the system it plugs into.
AI scribes may well be part of the future of Australian healthcare, but without strengthening the foundations they rely on, we risk creating more problems than we solve.
