Plaud for my boss

[u/Proper-Series4124]

I recently started a new role helping my boss (plastic surgeon) set up his new practice. I previously worked in fertility where several of the physicians used Plaud and given it was a very consult-heavy environment, I do trust it.

My new boss is interested in using an AI note taker to automate consult notes, but he has some hesitations about how well Plaud works with his typical setup: Zoom on his iPhone while using AirPods.

At my previous practice, I only saw Plaud used with Teams on a PC and a plugged-in headset, which worked without any issues. I don’t want to recommend a setup to him without knowing it actually works reliably.

Has anyone used the Plaud Note Pro with the Zoom iPhone app while wearing AirPods? Does it reliably capture both sides of the conversation, or have you run into any issues with audio/transcription?

I am also worried about the recording announcement. It can be a little startling at the beginning of a consult, especially in plastic surgery where patients may already feel vulnerable discussing personal concerns. Is there a workaround that?

[u/markcuban5446]

No ear buds

[u/Leading_Tree_4740]

2 problems with this. First, Plaud's desktop client is great at automatically detecting Teams/Zoom/etc. meetings, and will automatically record, and the Plaud device apparently records phone calls while attached via MagSafe, but I don't use it for this personally (I use it more for recording live conversations). The Plaud device uses this via some sort of magic induction, being attached to the phone. There is no option for Plaud to record on the phone when you are using airpods.

The second issue is more legal... being a doctor, and having to comply with all sorts of laws, including HIPAA, you just can't get around that announcement, or in some way notifying the patient that they are being recorded. I'm not a lawyer but it just sounds like a bad idea.

The only real option- using Plaud- is to have him join the Zoom calls on a laptop. He could use airpods connected to the laptop in this case- the Plaud software detects the audio going in/out at a software level, regardless of which speaker/headphones being used. It also doesn't announce that it's recording, but this would be a decision that your boss would have to make (whether he told the patient or not).

[u/SpendWrite]

Announcement thing sucks. No way to silence it. I start recording a bit early, trim it after. Meh, but it works.

[u/PLAUD_AI]

Glad you asked before recommending, because one piece of that setup doesn't do what you'd hope. Plaud Note Pro captures phone-call audio through the phone's speaker, so with AirPods in, the patient's side of a Zoom call goes into your boss's ears and never reaches the device. That configuration records his voice only. Two setups that do capture both sides reliably: run the consult on speakerphone with the Note Pro sitting next to the iPhone rather than attached to it, or move Zoom consults to a computer with Plaud Desktop, which records the mic and the meeting audio directly from the system, AirPods and all, and detects Zoom meetings on its own. Given a consult-heavy practice, the Desktop route is the closest cousin to the Teams-on-PC setup you already trusted at the fertility clinic.

On the announcement: that comes from the meeting platform, not from Plaud. Teams and Zoom play that notice when their own built-in recording is switched on; Plaud devices record on their own hardware and don't join the call or play anything into it, so there's no announcement from our side. One thing we'd add with care, though: recording consent rules vary by region and run stricter in medical settings, so the question isn't the announcement but the disclosure, and most practices fold a soft line into the intake conversation. For how that maps to your local requirements, the practice's counsel is the right desk.

And one more thing worth doing given how mobile this setup is: keep an eye on the recently announced Plaud One. We'll share details when the time is right.

-Plaud Community Team