Aipedia: Doctors and medical practices

AI triage and online consultation tools in GP

Aipedia, by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-10-27

A GP practice that uses AI to prioritise patient requests remains responsible for the outcome if an urgent case is under-triaged. CNSGP usually covers NHS triage, but private online services need their own indemnity.

Part of: AI in doctors and medical practices

In short

GP practices use online consultation and care-navigation tools that ask patients questions and use AI to sort requests by urgency or route them to the right clinician. The risk is under-triage: an urgent case placed in a routine queue, leading to delayed diagnosis. NHS England's scribe guidance describes liability defaulting to the provider as a "non-delegable duty", and the same reasoning is likely to be argued for triage. CNSGP covers NHS general practice, including NHS services delivered by digital platform, but not private online services, which need private indemnity.

How practices use AI triage

Online consultation tools let patients submit requests through a form or app. AI features may sort requests into urgent, same-day and routine, suggest the right clinician, flag red-flag symptoms or draft a response. Care navigators and reception staff may act on the tool's output. Some private GP and online doctor services use similar tools to decide whether a patient needs a video consultation, a prescription or a face-to-face referral.

The duties that apply

Supervision and delegation (GMP paras 61 and 66): Domain 3 requires appropriate supervision of colleagues you oversee and confidence that anyone you delegate to has the knowledge and training. Non-clinical staff acting on AI triage need clear rules for escalation.
Raising concerns (para 75): raise concerns about systems that may put patients at risk.
Incident reporting (para 73): report adverse incidents involving software.
Clinical safety: NHS England's approach to scribes requires deploying organisations to complete DCB0160 with a hazard log and monitoring. The government has accepted that guidance for other AI categories will be modelled on it (Rec 31).

If a tool makes a significant decision about a patient based solely on automated processing of health data, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 applies safeguards including a right to human intervention.

What can go wrong

Illustrative scenario: a patient describes chest discomfort in vague terms through the practice's online form. The AI assigns the request to a routine appointment in a week, and a care navigator confirms it without clinical review. The patient's condition worsens before the appointment. The family alleges the practice failed to triage properly.

Under-triage often arises where patients understate symptoms, use non-medical language or English is not their first language. Over-reliance by staff is the common thread: once the tool has given a priority, it can feel safer to accept it than to escalate.

Over-triage causes its own problems. If the tool sends too many requests to urgent slots, clinicians may start to discount its flags, and a genuinely urgent case can be lost among false alarms. A delayed-diagnosis claim will usually look at the whole pathway: what the patient wrote, what the tool did, who reviewed it, and whether the practice had monitored how the tool was performing.

The practice's duty and liability

NHS England's scribing guidance warns that where no liable party can be found or a supplier does not accept responsibility, liability may default to the provider as a "non-delegable duty". Claimants are likely to argue that a practice cannot hand its duty to triage safely to software. Practices should therefore have supplier contracts that address errors, and a clinical owner for the tool.

How CNSGP and private cover respond

CNSGP covers clinical negligence in NHS general practice from 1 April 2019, and its scope table confirms NHS services delivered by digital platform are covered. It does not cover private work, data protection breaches or third-party cyber incidents, and says nothing specific about AI suppliers. A private online GP service needs its own medical malpractice cover, which usually responds subject to its terms, including any condition that a human remains the decision maker. See CNSGP and private work and private GP indemnity.

Practical controls

Name a clinical safety lead and keep the hazard log current.
Give navigators clear red-flag rules that override the tool.
Have a clinician review a sample of routine-rated requests daily.
Audit under-triage incidents and report them.
Check supplier contracts for responsibility for errors.

How Apex helps

Apex arranges indemnity for doctors and clinics, including private work outside NHS schemes. A broker reviews your cover for private online services and how your policy treats AI-assisted triage.

Sources

Frequently asked

Does CNSGP cover AI triage errors?

CNSGP usually covers clinical negligence claims arising from NHS general practice, including NHS services delivered by digital platform, whatever tools were used. It does not cover private online services, data protection breaches or cyber incidents, and its scope table does not mention AI specifically.

Can reception staff act on AI triage decisions?

They can follow agreed processes, but GMP paras 61 and 66 require appropriate supervision and confidence that staff have the knowledge and training for the task. Give navigators red-flag rules that override the tool and a route to a clinician.

Is the supplier liable if the tool under-triages?

Possibly, under contract, but recovery is uncertain. NHS England warns liability may default to the provider if the supplier does not accept responsibility, and the government is examining how contracts allocate responsibility between manufacturer and provider.

Check your indemnity covers how you use AI

Tell us about your practice and the work you do. A broker will review how your current cover treats AI-assisted work, or arrange new cover. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.

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Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.