Hold AI notes and recording until consent is signed

Do not start AI notes, transcription, or recording for any session until a signed AI consent is on file for that client in Upheal. Today Upheal does not block AI notes or recording when client consent has not been collected yet; support confirmed this on ticket #149890670: AI notes start based on clinician settings, and clients do not see a separate notice about AI notes when they join the call. The consent article does not say recording is blocked until consent is collected, because it is not.

The gap appeared in a custom 15-minute free consultation, which is fit and logistics only, not a clinical session. Other clinicians may not use that service at all; they may have a different custom session, an intake, a first session, or a screening call. The rule therefore cannot depend on a session name, duration, or whether the service is custom or built in: if no signed AI consent is on file for that client, AI notes should not start, whatever the session is called.

Requested behaviour: default to off until consent is recorded, not on with a pause opt-out. If consent is revoked, AI stays off for subsequent sessions until consent is given again. A general terms acceptance should not count as AI consent.

This aligns with emerging professional standards for substantial AI uses like recording and transcription. The American Psychological Association's Ethical Guidance for AI in the Professional Practice of Health Service Psychology, June 2025, treats an AI scribe as a substantial use requiring greater discussion and disclosure, with human oversight and clinician responsibility for the final note. California's SB 903, as passed in final text before its October 1, 2026 veto, would have required specific-purpose notice and affirmative consent before AI recorded or transcribed a psychotherapy session, with no loss of care if consent was declined. The request is for Upheal to build to that standard for any session, even though neither source currently binds a Texas practice as law.

Interim workaround in use, which is not a substitute: pause AI notes at the start of every session where consent is not on file, and do not start a transcribed session without consent on file.