Heidi alternatives
Heidi is one of several AI medical scribes clinicians in AU use. This is a map of the field, not a ranking — for teams doing their own shortlist.
Heidi Health is a widely-used ambient AI scribe in Australian general practice and allied health. It isn't the only option, and 'alternative' doesn't mean 'better' or 'worse' — it means a different vendor with a different footprint, origin market and feature emphasis.
This page surveys the scribe field a practice evaluating Heidi is likely to also consider: Lyrebird Health (AU), i-scribe by Akuru (AU — per its own site, specialist-focused across ophthalmology, orthopaedics, cardiology, ENT and similar, rather than general practice), Suki (US, per its own site), Nabla (France-founded, per public reporting) and Augmedix (US, per its own site). We note public availability in the AU market where known and hedge anything not independently confirmed. Check each vendor's own site for current features, integrations and pricing before shortlisting.
Scorecard — Heidi vs Alternatives
Melbourne, Australia — built with AU clinical workflows in mind from day one.
Mixed per each vendor's public materials: Lyrebird Health and i-scribe (by Akuru) are AU-founded; Suki and Augmedix are US-founded; Nabla is France-founded per public reporting. Origin market shapes default localisation, not necessarily current AU availability — confirm directly.
Native AU product.
Lyrebird and i-scribe: AU-founded and AU-facing per their own sites (i-scribe's public positioning is specialist-focused rather than GP-first — check fit for your setting). Suki, Nabla and Augmedix: primarily built for US (and in Nabla's case, EU) clinical workflows and regulatory context per their own sites; confirm current AU availability, localisation and support directly with each before assuming parity with an AU-native product.
Lists integrations with common AU practice software per its site; depth varies by connector — verify current status against your specific PMS.
Varies widely: Lyrebird and i-scribe publicly target the AU practice-software ecosystem, but the specific list of supported PMSes and the depth (read-only vs write-back) should be confirmed on each vendor's current site rather than assumed. Suki, Nabla and Augmedix are generally built around US/EU EHRs per their own materials; AU PMS connectors, if any, should be confirmed directly rather than assumed.
Ambient, in-consult listening per its product pages.
Most competitors in this set also market ambient listening as the core mode; some (per public marketing) also support structured/templated dictation as a fallback — confirm current mode support per vendor.
Publishes AU-facing privacy documentation addressing Australian Privacy Principles.
US and EU vendors typically publish HIPAA or GDPR-facing documentation as their primary compliance frame, which is a different regulatory regime from the Australian Privacy Act. A vendor's HIPAA posture does not automatically establish APP 8 compliance for an AU deployment — that needs a separate assessment regardless of vendor.
Published on Heidi's own site; changes over time.
Each vendor publishes (or gates behind a demo request) its own current pricing; we don't restate figures here for any vendor — check each vendor's site directly, since scribe pricing models (per-seat, per-consult, enterprise) differ meaningfully across this set.
What we'd pick for an ANZ healthcare network
- — You want an AU-native scribe with local PMS integrations and AU-facing privacy documentation as a starting point.
- — Your practice already standardises on a US/EU EHR (e.g. an Epic-based multi-site group) where Suki, Nabla or Augmedix may have deeper native integration than an AU-native scribe.
- — You want a second AU-founded option to trial alongside Heidi — Lyrebird is the closest general-practice comparable; i-scribe (by Akuru) is worth considering if your setting is specialist rather than GP, per its own public positioning.
There's no single 'best' AI scribe — per public materials the field splits between AU-founded vendors (Heidi and Lyrebird for general practice; i-scribe by Akuru for specialist settings) built around local practice software and AU privacy framing, and US/EU vendors (Suki, Nabla, Augmedix) built around different EHR ecosystems and regulatory regimes. If you're AU-based and PMS-anchored, start your trial shortlist with the AU-founded set and only look further afield if your practice runs on a US/EU-style EHR. Confirm every feature, integration and pricing claim directly with the vendor's current documentation before shortlisting — this page is a map, not a scorecard.
FAQ
Is Suki, Nabla or Augmedix available in Australia?
We're not aware of public confirmation that all three actively serve the Australian market with local support and AU PMS integration as a core offering — each is primarily built around US or EU clinical workflows. Confirm current AU availability, localisation and support model directly with each vendor before shortlisting.
What's the difference between Lyrebird and i-scribe?
Both are AU-founded ambient scribes per their own sites, but they target different settings on current public positioning — Lyrebird Health is broadly aimed at general practice and allied health, while i-scribe (by Akuru) publicly positions around Australian specialists (ophthalmology, orthopaedics, cardiology, ENT and similar). Specific differences in PMS integration depth, template coverage and pricing should be confirmed directly with each vendor's current site.
Should a US-built scribe's HIPAA compliance reassure an AU practice?
No — HIPAA is a US regulatory framework and doesn't map directly onto the Australian Privacy Act's APP 8 cross-border disclosure obligations. A vendor being 'HIPAA compliant' says nothing about its APP posture; that needs a separate, AU-specific assessment regardless of which scribe you choose.
How should I actually shortlist between these?
Pilot 2-3 candidates against your own real (de-identified where required) consult types, check current PMS write-back status for your specific system, and get each vendor's current privacy/security documentation in writing rather than relying on marketing pages or third-party comparisons, including this one.
Does Cadence recommend one of these scribes?
No — Cadence is a vendor-neutral evaluator of AI voice agents for ANZ healthcare, and we don't rank or resell scribe products. This page exists because prospective clients ask how scribes fit alongside voice agents in a clinic's broader AI stack.
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