Canada: Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario released guidance on AI scribes in health sector

On 28 January 2026, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario released guidance on AI scribes in the health sector. The guidance sets out considerations on the development, procurement, and use of artificial intelligence scribes in Ontario’s health sector. It addresses privacy-related obligations under the Personal Health Information Protection Act and refers to the Enhancing Digital Security and Trust Act where applicable. The guidance defines artificial intelligence systems and AI scribes and outlines fundamental principles for the responsible use of artificial intelligence developed jointly with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. It specifies expectations on governance and accountability frameworks, risk management, data minimisation and purpose limitation, privacy impact assessments, security safeguards, breach notification, training and awareness, transparency, and human oversight. It further sets out obligations for developers of AI scribes, custodians who procure AI scribes, and custodians who use AI scribes.