Integration
Cliniko and Heidi: how the AI scribe integration actually works
Heidi is not built by Cliniko, and Cliniko's help centre has no article on it. You paste a Cliniko API key into Heidi's settings, then push a finished note into a linked Cliniko session with one click. Cliniko never stores the recording; Heidi does, and its FAQ says the audio is deleted once the note is generated.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
What syncs, and when
| What | Direction | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliniko session link | Cliniko to Heidi | Practitioner opens or starts a session in Heidi | Heidi reads the connected Cliniko account through the API key to find and link the matching patient and appointment. Cliniko's help centre does not document this step because the connection lives entirely on Heidi's side. |
| Consultation note | Heidi to Cliniko | Practitioner clicks to push the finished note | Heidi describes this as a one click push back that sends a structured note, formatted to fit Cliniko's treatment note layout, into the linked Cliniko session. |
| Consultation audio | Not synced to Cliniko | n/a | Heidi's FAQ says the audio used to generate the note disappears once the note is done and is never stored permanently. It does not pass through Cliniko at any point. |
What does not sync
- Anything automatic. Nothing lands in Cliniko until the practitioner reviews the note in Heidi and clicks to push it across; there is no background sync running on a schedule.
- The raw recording. Heidi's own FAQ is explicit that consultation audio is not stored once the note is produced, so there is no audio file to retrieve later from either system.
- Consent records. Neither Cliniko's help centre nor Heidi's public pages describe a built in way to log that a patient agreed to being recorded; that has to be handled and documented separately.
- Appointment bookings or invoicing. The integration is scoped to clinical notes. Billing, scheduling and online bookings stay entirely inside Cliniko.
Set it up
- In Cliniko, generate an API key for your practice (Settings > Integrations > API keys is the same mechanism Cliniko uses for Mailchimp, Physitrack and other connected apps).
- In Heidi, go to Settings > EMR Integrations > Cliniko and paste in the API key. Heidi describes this step as taking a couple of minutes.
- Confirm the connection by opening a patient in Heidi and checking it links to the matching Cliniko record.
- Record or dictate the consultation in Heidi as normal, review the generated note, then use the one click push to send it to the linked Cliniko session.
- Open the patient's file in Cliniko and check the note has landed in the expected treatment note format before relying on the workflow day to day.
Why Cliniko's help centre is no use here
Heidi is a third party AI scribe, not a Cliniko product, and it does not appear in Cliniko's help centre at all: searching Cliniko's help site for "Heidi" returns no articles. Cliniko does list Heidi in its connected apps directory as a tool that "formats and pushes notes into patient files," but the setup instructions, the consent guidance and the privacy claims all sit on Heidi's own site, not Cliniko's.
That matters for anyone troubleshooting a note that has not landed in Cliniko. Cliniko support can tell you whether your API key is valid and being used, but it cannot tell you why Heidi generated a note incorrectly or why a push failed, because the note never touches Cliniko until the moment it is pushed.
What actually moves, and when
The integration is one click, not automatic. A practitioner records or dictates a consultation inside Heidi, Heidi generates a structured note, and only when the practitioner reviews it and clicks the push back option does anything reach Cliniko. Heidi says the note is formatted "tailored to Cliniko's treatment note format," so it should land as a readable treatment note rather than a raw text dump, but this is Heidi's own description and worth checking against your own template the first few times.
Nothing flows the other way. Cliniko does not hand patient history or previous notes to Heidi automatically; the practitioner is working from what they already know plus whatever Heidi surfaces during the session itself.
The consent gap this page will not paper over
Recording a patient consultation, even to generate notes rather than to keep the recording, is a decision about that patient's information, and Heidi's own FAQ only covers what happens to the audio technically: "the audio used for generating patient notes? Disappears right after your notes are done, never stored permanently," and separately, "your patients' information stays right here in Australia." Neither statement is a substitute for telling the patient you are using an AI scribe and getting their agreement before the session starts.
Cliniko's own privacy help material is about Cliniko's handling of the record once it exists, not about the recording step that happens before anything reaches Cliniko. Build the consent conversation into your intake, not the integration.
Sources
- Cliniko's help centre returns no search results for 'Heidi'; the integration is documented on Heidi's own site, not Cliniko's. Cliniko Help, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Cliniko lists Heidi AI scribe in its connected apps directory, describing it as a tool that formats and pushes notes into patient files. Cliniko, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Heidi connects to Cliniko using a Cliniko API key entered in Heidi's Settings > EMR Integrations > Cliniko screen, and sends a completed note to the linked Cliniko session with a one click push back, formatted to Cliniko's treatment note layout. Heidi Health, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Heidi's FAQ states that audio used to generate patient notes is deleted once the notes are done and is never stored permanently, and that patient information stays in Australia. Heidi Health, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- API keys for connecting third party apps to Cliniko are generated and managed from Cliniko's Settings > Integrations screen, the same mechanism used across Cliniko's connected apps. Cliniko Help, checked 25 Sep 2026.