NHS England unveils supplier list of AI notetaking tech to boost take up by practices

A ‘registry’ of suppliers of AI notetaking tools for GPs and clinicians has been launched by NHS England to help practices make more informed decisions on which technology to adopt.

A total of 19 suppliers have been listed on the ‘self-certified’ national registry for Ambient Voice Technologies (AVT) for practices to select from (see box below).

The tools capture clinician-patient conversations and use AI to accurately generate real-time transcriptions and clinical summaries, while ensuring data protection.

And adoption of the tech could free up GPs to spend up to a quarter more time with their patients, NHS England highlighted.

The publishing of the registry follows NHS guidance released last year advising on the safe use of AVT but that caused, confusion among practices, ICBs, the BMA and suppliers about what packages they can use without incurring liabilities.

NHS England has said that suppliers on the registry comply with standards on clinical safety, technology and data protection.  It’s aim is to support practices and NHS organisations in England ‘better understand the readiness, capabilities, features and functionality of AVT solutions, and in turn, accelerate the adoption of AVTs across the NHS’.

However, NHS England warned that the registry it is not a commercial framework so only preliminary checks against requirements and standards have been carried out. The body further explained that a procurement process for suppliers still has to be conducted by individual organisations in line with their own governance processes, with the final decision also resting with themselves and not NHS England.

Meanwhile, a major NHS England sponsored study published last year found that AI-scribing technology can significantly reduce clinician workload while improving patient care.

The study, led by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust’s Innovation Unit, GOSH DRIVE, was conducted across nine NHS sites in London to assess the impact of an AI-scribing tool which automatically transcribes consultations and drafts summarised clinical notes for clinicians to review.

More than 17,000 patient encounters were evaluated across a diverse range of nine sites including GP practices, hospitals, mental health  services and ambulance teams.    

Results showed a 23.5% increase in direct patient interaction time during appointments, alongside an 8.2% reduction in overall appointment length when AI-scribes were used.

Dr Alec Price-Forbes, NHS England national chief clinical information officer, said:  ‘AI notetaking tools will help free up more time for clinicians to focus on their patients, rather than typing up notes or looking at a screen – enhancing the quality of consultations and improving overall patient satisfaction. 

‘We are working with NHS organisations to help them implement the technology safely and effectively – helping to make the NHS the most AI-enabled healthcare system in the world, as we shift from analogue to digital.’

NHS England has said further guidance on adoption of ambient scribing products in health organisations will be published throughout 2026 and 2027, and will include a template for data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) and help with evaluation and monitoring.

 Suppliers can be added to the registry, with applications re-opening in early 2026.