NHS England’s Transformation Directorate has published a list of 19 suppliers who have evidenced the criteria required to be part of its self-certified Ambient Voice Technology (AVT) registry – “a national capability to support safe and effective scaling and adoption of AVT across the health and care system”.
The 19 suppliers include 33n, Accurx, Anathem, Aprobrium (Lexacom), Beam Up, Corti, Dictate IT, eConsult, HealthOrbit AI, Heidi Health, Lyrebird Health, Microsoft Dragon, Optum (EMIS), Pungo t/a Joy, Scribetech, Tandem, Tortus, T-Pro, and X-On Health.
More details about the process and criteria suppliers need to meet to self-certify for the registry is provided on the Gov.uk website, which outlines that suppliers should hold class 1 Medical Device Accreditation and current DTAC assessment, and be able to provide “evidence of benefit” within NHS care settings. Ability to integrate with existing NHS digital infrastructure and scalability to meet varying demand levels are two other competencies suppliers are required to demonstrate.
Solutions eligible for the registry cover ambient voice capture, generative AI summarisation, suggested structured coding, intelligent identification, automated template population, and more. Applications are also welcomed from EPR providers to “assist with providing options and information around comparison of EPR Modules against off the shelf”.
Along with evidencing the criteria, suppliers need to submit a solution performance and monitoring response document, and an indicative pricing matrix or price list.
“The expectations are that buying authorities such as GPs, ICBs and acute trusts will use the AVT Registry and accompanying resource library as part of the necessary and locally required due diligence governance checks and to inform a suitable and compliant route to market which will vary according to requirements and contract value,” NHS England states.
Applications to join the registry are expected to reopen in early 2026, with more details available here.
Wider trend: AVT
For a HTN Now session back in August, we were joined by experts from across the health and care sector, including Dr Shanker Vijayadeva, GP, NHS England (London region); Rhod Joyce, deputy director of digital transformation, NHS England; Dr Dom Pimenta M.D., co-founder & chief executive officer, Tortus AI; Dr Hannah Allen, chief medical officer, Heidi Health; and Dr Andrew Whiteley, managing director, Lexacom. Our panellists discussed some of the practicalities and key considerations to take into account when it comes to using ambient scribe technology in primary care and general practice.
A separate HTN Now session explored the use of ambient scribe technology in NHS trusts. Panellists included Lauren Riddle, transformation programme manager at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare (HIoW); Ynez Symonds, CNIO at HIoW; Dom Pimenta, co-founder and CEO at Tortus AI; and Stuart Kyle, consultant rheumatologist and clinical lead for outpatient transformation at Royal Devon University Hospital. Our panel discussed the practicalities and considerations for ambient scribe implementations, from operating procedures and policies, integration and functionality, through to best practices around patient-practitioner interactions.
South East Coast Ambulance Service has launched a pilot of Tortus’s Ambient Voice solution in its emergency operations centres, looking to free-up clinician time to assist more patients. The tool listens in on conversations, transcribing spoken words into structured medical notes to be checked and approved. According to the trust, this is expected to reduce the amount of time taken by clinicians writing up notes following calls.
