Two leading UK AI scribes with different positioning.
Tortus AI is the enterprise solution — 3,500+ GP practices via the X-on Health partnership, MHRA Class I registration (Class IIa pending), Surgery Intellect platform generating structured summaries, referral letters, and clinical codes, with 4 minutes saved per consultation. DTAC, GDPR, DSPT, and Cyber Essentials Plus compliant. Practice-level procurement only.
Heidi Health is the individual-first solution — free tier for daily use, portable across practices, EMIS/SystmOne integration, "Ask Heidi" clinical decision support, and the Heidi Remote lapel hardware for ambient recording. DTAC compliant, on the NHSE AVT registry. Available to individual clinicians without practice-level procurement.
For Practice Procurement
Tortus's MHRA Class I registration provides a governance advantage that Heidi does not currently match. For practices making a formal procurement decision — particularly in ICS/ICB contexts where CQC and governance scrutiny is increasing — the MHRA registration carries weight. The 3,500+ practice deployment via X-on Health demonstrates scale and reliability.
Heidi's advantage is cost flexibility — the free tier allows practices to trial before committing, and individual clinicians can adopt independently without practice-level approval.
For GP Trainees
If your practice uses Tortus, you benefit from the time savings immediately — 4 minutes per consultation across a 25-patient surgery recovers nearly 2 hours. The referral letter drafting is particularly useful for trainees who spend significant time composing referrals.
If your practice does not use Tortus, Heidi's free tier lets you experiment with ambient scribing independently. The portability means it works wherever you work — locum sessions, out-of-hours, different training practices.
Where iatroX Fits
Ambient scribes handle documentation. iatroX handles learning. They address different halves of the GP workload problem — use the time scribes save for adaptive revision and clinical knowledge building.