Start with the records, not the privacy slogan
A therapy note and the conversation behind it are different records. A concise note may document the themes and next steps, while a recording or transcript contains the patient's fuller account. An online scribe may receive that fuller account even when the clinician files only the finished note.
When considering legal disclosure, the first practical question is therefore what each organization actually holds or controls. Saying that a tool is private does not answer whether its company has recordings, transcripts, drafts, or retained copies.
Three places a record could exist
| Holder | Relevant records |
|---|---|
| The clinical practice | The local transcript and notes it retains, including its chosen backups. |
| The patient-record service | The note and any other material the practice sends to that service. |
| An online scribe | The recording or text it receives, plus any copies its service retains. |
For example, a practice might file a brief therapy note in an EHR while its scribe holds a much longer transcript. A request for records from those two organizations could concern different material. The EHR copy does not tell you what the scribe has, and deleting a note from the scribe's visible interface does not establish what its retention policy permits it to keep.
What changes when the software company never receives the conversation
Astralcyte makes the transcript and draft on the clinician's device. Under its privacy policy, the app does not send clinical recordings, transcripts, or notes to the company. The company also has no recovery key that lets it open your local vault.
Astralcyte therefore cannot hand over a server-held therapy transcript that its servers never received. This does not depend on a company deciding to refuse a request or promising to challenge it. The clinical copy is absent from its systems.
Your practice records remain a separate question
In US federal civil proceedings, Rule 45 of the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure concerns materials in a subpoenaed person's possession, custody, or control. A request directed to your practice or EHR concerns the records held or controlled there; moving drafting offline does not remove those records from legal process.
Rule 37(e) also addresses lost electronic information that should have been preserved for litigation. An actual request or preservation duty needs jurisdiction-specific legal advice before changing deletion arrangements. The benefit of offline drafting is avoiding an additional provider-held conversation, while keeping the clinical records your practice needs.
You can continue using AI to prepare the note, edit it locally, and place the finished text in your usual record. Getting that writing assistance does not require giving the software company its own therapy transcript.