AI note-taking for psychiatrists in Belgium and Switzerland: how to choose

An AI note-taking tool for psychiatrists turns a consultation, transcribed live or dictated afterwards, into structured notes and outgoing documents (report, letter, certificate). In Belgium and Switzerland, a psychiatrist is first of all a doctor. So the tool is chosen against the medical code of ethics, the retention period of the patient record and where the data goes.

Why a psychiatrist does not choose like a psychologist

Our page for psychologists on AI and professional secrecy in Belgium and Switzerland covers secrecy and the contract with the vendor. It still applies to you. But three things change when you are a doctor.

• Your documents carry more weight. In Switzerland, the FMH calls certificates, reports and expert opinions official documents. In Belgium, the medical code of ethics sets how documents given to the patient must be written.
• Your consultations include medication. A transcription error on a drug name or dose matters more than a wording error.
• You write to other doctors. The letter to the GP should contain what is needed, nothing more.

For France, see our psychiatry software page and the best AI scribe for psychiatrists.

Belgium: what the texts say for doctors

The record

The Patient Rights Act of 22 August 2002 (article 9, §1) gives patients the right to a patient record that is carefully kept up to date and stored safely (French text on Wallex). The 2018 medical code of ethics adds, in article 22, that the doctor keeps an up-to-date record for each patient whose content and storage meet legal and ethical requirements. Article 24 sets the period: records must be kept for thirty years after the last contact with the patient, securely and in line with professional secrecy. The Quality Act of 22 April 2019 (article 35) provides for at least 30 and at most 50 years (summary by the Psychologists' Commission).

We therefore recommend keeping your medical software as the reference record, and treating the AI tool as a drafting workshop whose approved documents you file there.

Secrecy and staff

Under article 25, secrecy covers all information that came to the doctor's knowledge in the course of practice, and the doctor ensures that staff respect professional secrecy. A software vendor also sees data covered by secrecy, so we recommend asking it for a written confidentiality commitment.

Documents leaving the practice

Article 26 covers the medical documents the doctor gives the patient. The doctor writes them in a sincere, objective, careful and discreet way, without mentioning anything about third parties, and sends them to the doctor the patient names, at the patient's request. Article 27 adds that the doctor respects purpose and proportionality when processing health data, and passes only relevant information to another health professional, at the patient's request or with their agreement.

With AI, this is the sensitive point. A transcript contains the spouse, the employer, a brother; a letter drafted from it may repeat them. You must be able to remove them easily.

Switzerland: what the texts say for doctors

Medical secrecy and auxiliaries

Article 321 of the Swiss Criminal Code applies to doctors and their auxiliaries, as the SAMS/FMH practical guide (updated 18 June 2026) recalls. The FMH code of ethics (article 11) asks the doctor to instruct staff on secrecy and, as far as possible, to have them commit to it in writing. It adds that when several doctors work together on a case, the patient's consent to sharing medical information can as a rule be taken as given. That rule concerns the doctors treating the patient, not a software vendor.

The record

Article 12 of the FMH code requires sufficient notes on observations and measures taken, and keeping the record for at least 20 years after the last entry. Check your canton's rules too.

Certificates and reports

Article 34 matters most here: medical certificates, reports and expert opinions are official documents. The purpose, the date and the recipient's name must appear on the document, and certificates of convenience are forbidden. For a report to an insurer, the SAMS/FMH guide says the information shared is always limited to what the insurer needs to do its job. Your template must therefore include these three items and a strict selection of content.

Data leaving Switzerland

According to the FDPIC, personal data may go to a country whose protection the Federal Council has found adequate (article 16(1) FADP). The list is in annex 1 of the Data Protection Ordinance and includes all EU and EEA states. The United States has been on the list since 15 September 2024, but only for data processed by companies certified under the Data Privacy Framework. A tool hosted in France is in a listed country. For a US tool, ask for proof of that certification.

The FMH also offers a model data processing agreement (version 03/2023). It provides for processing in Switzerland, the EU or the EEA; processing elsewhere requires the client's prior written consent. Further sub-processors must be notified in writing, and the provider commits to professional secrecy. Use it to review a vendor's contract.

Belgium and Switzerland side by side

• Secrecy: Belgium, medical code of ethics art. 25; Switzerland, art. 321 SCC and FMH code art. 11.
• Record retention: Belgium, 30 years after last contact (code art. 24), 30 to 50 years (Quality Act art. 35); Switzerland, at least 20 years (FMH code art. 12), plus cantonal rules.
• Documents given out: Belgium, sincere, objective, careful, discreet, no third parties (art. 26); Switzerland, official documents with purpose, date and recipient (art. 34).
• Sharing with a colleague: Belgium, relevant information, at the patient's request or with agreement (art. 27); Switzerland, consent as a rule assumed between doctors working together (art. 11).
• Data abroad: Belgium, GDPR, the EU is one area; Switzerland, EU and EEA on the annex 1 list, United States only for certified companies.
• Model contract: Belgium, GDPR article 28; Switzerland, the FMH model agreement.

A six-point selection grid

• Where data and AI processing happen, what happens to audio: in writing on the site or in the contract. Stored in Frankfurt does not mean processed in Frankfurt.
• Two note-taking modes: transcription during the consultation, and dictation afterwards. Some consultations suit live transcription poorly (a wary patient, a crisis), so dictation afterwards must remain possible.
• Medication: Belgian or Swiss brand names, doses and titration schedules captured correctly. Test on a fictional consultation.
• Separate outgoing documents: letter, report and certificate generated apart from the note, with adjustable detail.
• Follow-up memory and your style: does the tool know the patient's history and follow your structure, or start again from a generic template?
• Several voices: a consultation with a relative, a family interview. Does the tool tell speakers apart?

Eight questions to ask the vendor

Questions on the contract, encryption and deletion are on the secrecy page linked above. These ones are specific to psychiatrists.

• 1. Can I generate a letter to the GP that does not repeat the whole note, and remove details about third parties before sending?
• 2. Do your certificate and report templates include purpose, date and recipient?
• 3. How does the tool handle drug names sold in Belgium or Switzerland and dictated doses?
• 4. When the AI does not understand a word, does it flag it, or replace it with a plausible one?
• 5. Can I export my notes and documents in a format still readable in 20 or 30 years, to file them in my main record?
• 6. Can I turn off transcription for a patient who declines, while keeping dictation and their record?
• 7. If your AI provider is American, can you prove its Data Privacy Framework certification?
• 8. Will the contract accept the FMH model terms (processing in Switzerland, the EU or the EEA, sub-processors announced in writing)?

Tools used in Europe, according to their sites

Pages read on 5 November 2026. Check with each vendor before choosing.

• Heidi: according to its site, Heidi operates local, private servers in every region it operates in, does not use consultation data, transcripts or generated notes to train its model, and cites ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and SOC 2. Strength: detailed security documentation. Exact location of European servers, languages, Belgium and Switzerland: not stated on the page read (it points to its Trust Centre).
• Nabla: according to its security page (updated 5 September 2023), services are hosted on Google Cloud Platform, in the region chosen when the organisation is created. Its home page mentions health data hosting (HDS), GDPR, configurable retention and many integrations with medical software; a doctor's testimonial there mentions a "psychiatry" mode. Languages, Belgium and Switzerland: not stated on its site (pages read).
• Tandem Health: according to its site, data is processed and stored in Sweden, at Microsoft Azure's data centre in Gävle, audio is deleted as soon as it is transcribed, and no personal data is used to train its models. Strength: a clear audio policy. Languages, Belgium and Switzerland: not stated on its site.
• Dragon Copilot (Microsoft): according to its release notes, most features in this release are offered in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands (some also in Ireland), and Dragon Medical One vocabulary can be carried over. Strength: already offered in several European countries. Belgium, Switzerland, languages and hosting location: not stated on its site (page read).
• Delta: data and AI processing in France, no audio file kept (details below).

Fictional example: the letter to the GP

Dr Helen V., a psychiatrist in Namur, sees Thomas L., 42, referred by his GP, Dr Paul M. The consultation is transcribed. Thomas talks at length about his wife and his manager. Thomas agrees that Dr Helen V. writes to his doctor. Here is the final letter, after review. Everything is fictional.

Ready-to-copy template

Re: Thomas L., born 12/03/1984. Psychiatric consultation on 4 November 2026.

Dear colleague,

Thank you for referring Mr Thomas L., whom I saw on 4 November 2026 for low mood over the past three months, with sleep problems and difficulty concentrating at work.

Clinical findings: low mood, moderate slowing, fragmented sleep with early waking, appetite preserved. No psychotic features. Similar episode in 2019, treated in general practice.

Working hypothesis: moderate depressive episode, to be confirmed during follow-up.

Proposed treatment: sertraline 50 mg daily for one week, then 100 mg daily. I will see Mr L. again in three weeks to check tolerance.

What I ask of you: basic blood tests if you find them useful, and to let me know of any side effects reported in your consultations.

Mr L. knows the content of this letter and agreed to it being sent. I remain available.

Kind regards,

Dr Helen V., psychiatrist

What was removed from the generated version

• Comments about Thomas's wife and manager, which are details about third parties (Belgian code, article 26).
• Details of money worries he mentioned, not relevant for the GP (article 27).
• A mistranscribed dose ("15 mg" instead of "50 mg"), corrected on review.

In Switzerland, add the purpose and the recipient's name to any report for a third party, as article 34 of the FMH code requires. More templates are in our clinical document templates.

Common mistakes

• Sending the full consultation note to the GP. A note is not a letter. Generate a separate document.
• Not checking doses. A wrong dose or drug name is easy to miss in well-written text.
• Letting the AI word a certificate. It carries your signature. Let the tool draft, then rewrite every sentence that asserts something.
• Keeping notes only in the AI tool. With 20 to 30 years of retention, your reference record should stay in software you control.

Why Delta fits this case

Delta is the clinical assistant for mental health and allied health professionals, more than a scribe: it keeps the memory of each patient. During the consultation, Delta transcribes what is said; or afterwards, you dictate your observations. It generates the report, updates the patient record (follow-up summary, tracked goals) and drafts letters, certificates and assessments in your vocabulary and structure, learned from your existing documents. It tells voices apart in a family interview.

For Belgium and Switzerland, data stays in Europe, in France, on infrastructure certified for health data, and AI processing takes place in France. The patient's name and identifying details are pseudonymised before the AI, no audio file is kept, data is never used to train a model, and it is encrypted in transit and at rest. Delta does no billing or scheduling: it complements your medical software. 14-day trial with no card; Free plan at €0 (10 sessions per month); Pro plan at €35 per month incl. VAT with no commitment, or €29 per month incl. VAT billed yearly (€348 per year). See the Delta page for psychiatrists.

Sources

• Belgian Medical Council, Code of medical ethics 2018 (French), articles 22 to 27.
• Patient Rights Act of 22 August 2002 (French), article 9 (Wallex, version in force since 1 March 2019).
• FMH, Code of ethics (2025 version, revised 5 June 2025, French), articles 11, 12 and 34.
• FMH, model data processing agreement (03/2023, French).
• FDPIC, Transfer of personal data abroad (revised 12 February 2025, French).