Published template — completion and adoption required. Publication makes this form available for review; it does not sign it for any clinic, activate a feature, change an existing instruction or confirm that an operational commitment has been tested. Complete the clinic-specific particulars and conditions before execution or use.

Version: 2026-09-28_v4 Published: 28 September 2026

Standard offered for clinic adoption

David's selected proposal is retained: delete active raw audio 24 hours after the clinician accepts the resulting transcript or note, with a maximum of seven days after recording, subject to an agreed clinic instruction or documented preservation hold. Filed transcripts and clinician-approved records follow the clinic's justified record schedule. The choice is not proof that deletion currently operates.

The clinic must assess whether the raw recording is only a temporary working aid or must form part of the care record for a particular workflow. A short retention period does not remove the need to assess clinical record-keeping, necessity, failed transcription and patient rights. No blanket conclusion that clinical review is unnecessary is made.

Operating rules to verify before activation

• Record the clinic's exact periods, trigger events, responsible owner and accepted instruction.
• Make acceptance attributable to the clinician and verify that the selected trigger covers both transcript and note acceptance without deleting the wrong recording.
• Warn and escalate failed or unreviewed transcription before expiry; a stalled job does not silently extend retention or remove an applicable hold.
• A hold identifies the affected recordings, lawful reason, owner, start and review date. Release is authorised and logged.
• Remove active audio, copies/intermediates and vendor copies according to the actual data map. Restricted backups follow the separately agreed expiry period; do not claim instant deletion of every copy.
• Verify that restore respects deletion and restriction decisions. Preserve a content-free deletion record and the necessary evidence of instructions and holds.
• Changing the agreed retention period requires review of clinic instructions, notices, configuration and operational safety. Reducing seven days to two is not automatically a configuration-only change.

Evidence required

The automated deletion process must be verified for the clinic before this schedule is adopted. Publication does not confirm that automatic deletion is active. Rehearse acceptance, unaccepted expiry, failed transcription, an active hold, released hold and restore using synthetic recordings. Record timestamps, object existence, backup handling and exception outcomes without patient content.

The final public notice and clinic schedule must describe the periods actually agreed and operated. This template supersedes v3's review text only; it does not replace an executed clinic instruction or turn on deletion.

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Source: docs/legal/AUDIO_RETENTION_2026-09-28_v4.md