Tortus
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What is Tortus?
TORTUS is an AI medical scribe and healthcare assistant designed specifically for NHS clinicians, including GPs, hospital doctors, and ambulance staff. It listens to patient consultations in real-time using medical speech-to-text AI and automatically generates clinical notes, referral letters, and clinical coding suggestions (ICD-10 and SNOMED). The app sits alongside your EHR system during consultations, allowing clinicians to focus on patient care rather than documentation.
Key features include ambient voice transcription, instant intelligent dictation, automated medical note drafting, referral letter generation, clinical coding suggestions, EHR integration with EMIS/TPP and Epic, audio file upload for telephone consultations, and a proprietary hallucination removal system for clinical safety. Annual users receive exclusive state-of-the-art microphones with 200m range. Future capabilities include natural language interface, information summarization, and downstream actions like ordering tests and scheduling appointments.
TORTUS is clinically safe, designed by NHS doctors, and registered as a Class I medical device that is DTAC-compliant. The platform is secure because it does not train AI models on patient data and retains no clinical data. It is now available to all GPs across the UK via X-on Health's Surgery Intellect product, serving over 3,500 GP surgeries.
The tool is ideal for healthcare professionals seeking to reduce administrative burden by up to 25%, improve documentation quality, decrease burnout, and spend more time with patients. It has been trialed across nine NHS sites with over 17,000 patient encounters, freeing clinicians to spend nearly a quarter more time with patients.
Tortus pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
TORTUS is available as a practice-level procurement decision rather than individual subscription. It is now available to ALL GPs across the UK via X-on Health through the Surgery Intellect product, expected available from mid-June 2025 at 10 integrated care boards with deployment approval. Annual users receive exclusive state-of-the-art microphones with 200m range. Individual trainees cannot bring their own Tortus subscription - it is designed for practice efficiency. Pricing is practice-based rather than per individual user. A 1-month free trial is available with 3-month or 12-month contract options (12-month includes discount).
Tortus pros
- Automatically transcribes patient consultations in real-time
- Generates instant medical notes ready for clinician review
- Drafts referral letters automatically
- Provides ICD-10 and SNOMED clinical coding suggestions
- Integrates directly with EMIS, TPP, and Epic EHR systems
- Clinically safe - Class I medical device, DTAC-compliant
- Designed by NHS doctors for clinical workflows
- No patient data used for AI model training
- No clinical data retained after processing
- Proprietary hallucination removal system for safety
- Reduces administrative burden by up to 25%
- Frees clinicians to spend 25% more time with patients
- Supports both face-to-face and telephone consultations
- Ultra-low latency speech-to-text for real-time use
- Exclusive high-quality microphones (200m range) for annual users
- Drag-and-drop audio file upload for recorded consultations
- Available to all UK GPs via X-on Health partnership
Tortus cons
- Practice-level procurement only - not available at individual trainee level
- May struggle with fully strong accents occasionally
- Requires clinician review and verification before saving to EHR
- Recording cannot be restarted after clicking 'Finish and generate notes'
- Browser requirements are strict - must use latest versions
- Additional features like ordering tests still coming soon
- No free personal tier for individual clinicians
- Less trainee-specific compared to individual AI scribe alternatives
Frequently asked questions about Tortus
What outputs are generated when using the TORTUS app?
TORTUS generates transcriptions of the consultation, a clinical note, and a referral letter. The AI captures audio using medical speech-to-text, drafts instant medical notes and letters ready for clinician review, and provides clinical coding suggestions including ICD-10 and SNOMED codes. All outputs are ready for clinician verification before being saved to the EHR.
How do I start recording a consultation?
Click the 'Start consultation' button on the TORTUS home screen or in the left-hand sidebar. This opens a new consultation screen and recording begins automatically. Confirm recording is active by checking that the timer is increasing and the audio waveform is moving in response to speech. You can pause by clicking the recording bar area and resume by clicking again. When complete, click 'Finish and generate notes' to start note generation.
How should I edit the clinical note or letter?
All AI-generated notes and letters must be reviewed and edited by the clinician before being finalized. The clinician remains the ultimate arbiter of the clinical record. Edit any inaccuracies, add missing details, and verify clinical coding suggestions before copying into your EHR system. Never copy AI-generated content without checking first.
How do I access transcriptions, clinical notes, and letters?
After clicking 'Finish and generate notes', the transcription, clinical note, and letter are generated and displayed on the consultation screen. You can review, edit, and copy them directly from this interface. The outputs are ready for transfer to your EHR system after clinician verification.
Can I copy the clinical note and/or letter into an EHR without checking the content?
No. You must always verify and edit the AI-generated content before copying it into your EHR. The clinician is responsible for ensuring clinical accuracy, and AI outputs may occasionally omit nuanced patient comments or contain inaccuracies. Clinical oversight is non-negotiable for patient safety.
What are best practices for using the TORTUS app?
Use officially supported browsers: Microsoft Edge 129+, Apple Safari 17.6+, Google Chrome 130+, or Mozilla Firefox 132+. Position microphones strategically to capture both clinician and patient voices clearly. Minimize ambient background noise. Ensure robust patient consent protocols before recording. For patients with strong accents, use closed-loop communications by repeating back key parts of the consultation, especially medication names.
How should I use the context box?
The context box is located beneath the recording block. Type or paste any information relevant to the consultation that should be included in the note but may not be appropriate to say aloud. This information automatically appears in the clinical note and letter under appropriate sections. Note that the context box cannot be used to give the model instructions or prompts on how to write or format notes - safeguards prevent this for clinical safety.
Can TORTUS transcribe accents?
Yes, although TORTUS may occasionally struggle to transcribe fully in particularly strong accents. If a patient has a strong accent, use closed-loop communications by repeating back key parts of the consultation and especially medication names to ensure accuracy. Position the microphone to capture both voices equally for best results.
What browsers are supported when using TORTUS?
Officially supported browsers are: Microsoft Edge 129.0 and later, Apple Safari 17.6 and later, Google Chrome 130.0 and later, and Mozilla Firefox 132.0 and later. TORTUS web may work in previous versions without issues, but updating to the latest version is strongly recommended for optimal performance and security.
What do I do if the app says it can't access my microphone?
Check that your browser has permission to access the microphone in your system settings. Ensure you are using an officially supported browser version. Close other applications that may be using the microphone. Try refreshing the page or restarting the browser. If using a desktop app, verify the microphone is properly connected and selected as the default input device in your system audio settings.