Terms of Service

Who operates ComfortNotes?

ComfortNotes is operated by Homecare Comforts Ltd, trading as Comforts Hearing. ComfortNotes is the product name, not a separate legal company.

Registered company name: Homecare Comforts Limited. Company number: 12224982. Registered office: 65 Seymour Avenue, Morden, Surrey, SM4 4RF, United Kingdom. These pages concern ComfortNotes, not the separate Comforts Hearing clinic website.

Raymond Hill is responsible for ComfortNotes support, security incidents and privacy requests. Contact: info@comforts-hearing.co.uk. Include ComfortNotes and your clinic name. Do not email patient records, photographs, audio, passwords or API keys.

Seven-day clinic trial

Where explicitly activated after clinic approval, the no-card trial runs for seven elapsed days from the activation time shown in the workspace. Registration alone does not start a trial. Ten consultations are shared by the clinic, with two staff accounts including its administrator. First AI processing reserves a consultation; further recordings and documents in that same consultation share its limits.

Each consultation includes 30 minutes combined audio allowance, counting live connection and finalisation time, and an initial generation plus two AI revisions per AI-generated document. Identical requests reuse cached results. Manual editing does not consume AI allowance. Audiogram extraction is limited separately to three requests. Pending processing reserves capacity; uncertain failures may require support review before capacity can be released. Technical safety limits also apply.

At expiry, new AI processing stops; authorised saved-record access, manual edits and downloads remain available subject to ordinary approval and access controls. Exhausting ten consultations prevents starting an eleventh, but existing consultations may continue within their limits until expiry. There is no automatic charge or paid conversion. A clinic administrator can choose a paid plan in Plan & usage and complete Stripe checkout. Clinicians who do not administer the clinic should ask their administrator to subscribe. Paid access begins only after payment is confirmed. Top-ups are not currently available.

Scope and status

ComfortNotes is a documentation-support service for approved clinics and authorised professionals in their assigned profession workspaces. Audiology was the first workspace. Available documents, reference guides and review checks depend on the profession and enabled features. Assignment does not override a workspace’s release restrictions; fictional-only or unavailable features must not be used for patient care. The clinical workflow supports authorised clinic staff with notes, transcripts, letters and private photographs with clinician-written reviews. These terms cover professional use of the current service, not a patient-facing treatment service. The operator provides documentation tools; each clinic remains responsible for its care and records. The revised contractual provisions below are for review and express agreement by the operator and an authorised clinic representative; browsing, registration or clinic approval alone does not create a subscription contract.

Accounts and appropriate use

Access depends on approval and clinic membership. Use your own account, keep credentials private and report suspected unauthorised access. Clinic administrators manage membership for their clinic. Do not attempt to access another clinic’s information, bypass safeguards, upload unlawful material or use the service for automated diagnosis.

Review, records and exports

AI transcription and drafting can omit, invent or misstate information. Check transcripts and each document against the source, including patient identity, relevant side or site, findings and measurements. Clinician approval is required before export. Documents are not sent automatically. Photos have clinician-written reviews, not automated image interpretation.

Confirm that work is saved before leaving. Approved text can be copied, downloaded or printed for manual transfer. Photographs are not included in text or PDF exports. Archiving hides a consultation from the active list; it does not delete the record or its history.

Manual corrections and appointment-pack revisions

Review and correct the clinical record first, then approve it before preparing the appointment pack. Manual document edits and section confirmations do not consume AI revisions. They require fresh review and approval; they do not turn a clinician addition into a quotation from the original transcript or erase saved history.

If the approved clinical record changes, related documents require review. Where available, explicitly request an AI update comparison and choose which proposed changes to apply, or edit manually. An AI update uses that document’s generation allowance even if its proposed wording is rejected; an identical cached request does not use another generation. Each document has an initial AI generation plus two AI revisions. Nothing is sent automatically, and previously shared or downloaded copies are not silently replaced.

Service, support and account closure

We will provide the agreed service with reasonable care and skill. Availability depends on hosting and other providers; uninterrupted operation, an error-free AI output or a particular recovery time is not guaranteed. Contact info@comforts-hearing.co.uk for support and complaints. Support is not an emergency clinical service and no response-time service level is included unless expressly agreed.

An authorised clinic administrator may request closure through the support address. We will verify authority, explain the effect on access and agree record export and lawful retention or disposal. Closure and archiving do not automatically erase records. Existing separately agreed payment or notice obligations are unaffected.

We may restrict access where reasonably necessary to address a security incident, unlawful use or a material breach. Where safe and lawful, we will explain the reason and provide an opportunity to resolve it. Restrictions will be proportionate; necessary record retrieval will be arranged securely where lawful. We will give reasonable advance notice of planned material service changes or discontinuation where practicable.

Ownership, responsibility and disputes

Clinics retain their rights in the information they supply. They authorise processing only to provide the agreed service and meet applicable legal duties. No ownership of patient records is transferred to us. Rights in the software and branding remain with their respective owners; clinic access does not permit resale or copying the software.

Each party remains responsible for its own acts, omissions and applicable legal obligations. Nothing excludes liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. No financial liability cap is introduced by these provisions. Clinical review does not remove the operator’s own responsibilities.

The proposed agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales, with disputes subject to its courts, without removing any mandatory rights. Raise concerns with us first so we can seek a practical resolution.

Clinic subscriptions and payments

One administrator pays for a monthly subscription shared by the clinic. Starter is £25 for 100 consultations and two staff accounts; Professional is £45 for 200 consultations and five staff accounts; Practice is £89 for 500 consultations and fifteen staff accounts. Administrators count towards staff limits. These are the final monthly charges; no VAT is added.

The seven-day trial does not automatically convert to a paid subscription. An administrator must choose a plan, acknowledge the payment terms and complete Stripe checkout. Confirmed paid access replaces any remaining trial allowance and renews monthly until cancelled. Simply viewing these pages does not authorise a payment.

Each consultation includes up to 30 minutes of combined recording/transcription time and an initial draft plus two AI revisions per document. Audiogram extraction has a separate three-request limit. Manual editing does not use the AI generation allowance. Limits are enforced; top-ups and automatic overage charges are not currently available.

Manage upgrades and downgrades in Plan & usage. An upgrade charges the full difference between the monthly plan prices, not a daily proportion, and increases the current allowance after payment is confirmed. Used consultations stay counted and the renewal date stays the same. Downgrades take effect at renewal; staff and pending invitations must fit the lower limit. A downgrade does not generate a partial-period refund.

Use Manage subscription for invoices, payment details and cancellation at the end of the paid period. New AI processing requires an active trial or confirmed paid allowance. Saved records, manual editing and downloads remain accessible while account and clinic access remain active. Contact support about billing errors or refund requests. Existing separately agreed arrangements remain unchanged. Material contract changes require notice and any agreement required by law; continued browsing alone is not acceptance.

Clinic processing terms: scope and agreement

For an independent clinic, the clinic is the controller and Homecare Comforts Limited is the processor of patient information. These processing terms can form part of the service agreement without a separate public policy page. Before patient processing, both parties must record the clinic’s legal identity, authorised representative, effective date, agreed terms version and completed processing schedule. Platform approval is not contractual acceptance. No agreement between Homecare Comforts Limited and itself is needed for Comforts Hearing’s own care records.

The subject matter is clinician-led documentation in the profession workspaces expressly enabled and agreed for the clinic. The clinic schedule must identify the professions, permitted patient populations, data categories and enabled features; adding a profession does not automatically extend that agreement. Processing includes receiving, transcribing, organising, storing, retrieving, drafting, exporting and disposing of information on instruction. It concerns patients and clinic personnel, including identifiers, contact details, health histories, findings, notes, recordings, transcripts, documents, ear photographs and clinician reviews. Processing lasts for the agreed service and authorised retention or exit period. The clinic determines purposes, lawful grounds, notices, authorised users and lawful instructions.

Clinic processing terms: instructions and safeguards

We will process clinic information only on documented instructions, including instructions concerning transfers, unless UK law requires otherwise. Where permitted, we will inform the clinic of such a legal requirement before processing. We will immediately inform the clinic if an instruction appears to infringe applicable data-protection law and pause the affected instruction while it is resolved.

We will ensure authorised personnel are subject to confidentiality obligations and implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures, taking account of risk. Current measures and limitations are described in Security & Data Protection and must be included in the agreed clinic schedule. Patient photographs will not be used for model training or a shared image collection.

Clinic processing terms: suppliers and transfers

The proposed supplier list is Netlify for hosting and request forwarding, Supabase for accounts and records, AssemblyAI for configured transcription and OpenAI for drafting (or transcription when the OpenAI option is configured), and Resend for account and service-administration emails. Stripe handles subscription checkout and billing separately from clinical drafting; patient records are not required for payment. Each clinic schedule must confirm the relevant legal entities, activities, locations and transfer safeguards before authorisation. Listing a supplier here does not confirm that its contractual coverage has been verified.

Subprocessors require prior specific or general written clinic authorisation. Under general authorisation we will notify the clinic before a proposed addition or replacement, allowing a reasonable opportunity to object before affected processing begins. Unresolved objections must be addressed by an agreed alternative or ending the affected service. We will impose equivalent data-protection obligations on subprocessors and remain responsible to the clinic for their performance. Restricted transfers require documented instructions and a valid applicable transfer mechanism; no UK-only or EU-only processing promise is made.

Clinic processing terms: assistance, incidents and audit

Taking account of the processing and information available, we will assist the clinic with individual rights requests and its security, breach notification, impact-assessment and prior-consultation obligations. We will notify the clinic without undue delay after becoming aware of a personal-data breach, provide available details and further updates, and cooperate with its response. The clinic remains responsible for its own regulatory and patient notifications where applicable.

We will make available information needed to demonstrate compliance and allow and contribute to audits, including inspections, by the clinic or its mandated auditor. Arrangements must protect other clinics’ confidential information and must not prevent a lawful audit or urgent regulatory action.

Clinic processing terms: return and deletion

At the end of processing, at the clinic’s choice we will return or delete its personal data and delete existing copies unless UK law requires retention. The agreed exit schedule must specify scope, timing, secure transfer format, lawful holds and backup handling. Copies awaiting permitted backup expiry must be protected from ordinary use; any restoration must reapply disposal instructions. Archiving is not fulfilment of a deletion request.

Current standard exports contain approved text, not photographs or a complete database export. Photo return and full-record requests need a verified secure arrangement. Complete production disposal and restore-safe removal are not yet operationally verified; an agreed schedule must not promise an unverified capability. Contact the operator before committing to an exit deadline.

Optional Ask the evidence research chat

Available to active clinic members with an assigned Audiology or Physiotherapy workspace. This separate research, reference and education tool searches public web sources; other professions are not enabled. It is not a diagnosis, prescription, emergency service, clinical approval or accredited learning activity. Linked citations and an automated source-audit pass do not guarantee accurate interpretation, complete coverage, access to full text or currency. Check original sources and professional applicability before relying on an answer.

Do not enter patient identifiers or confidential information. No consultation records or transcripts are automatically accessed. User-entered questions and up to three recent completed exchanges pass through the protected service to OpenAI; search queries may reach its search providers. OpenAI response storage is disabled, but provider security and operational retention may apply. ComfortNotes does not save this chat to consultation, CPD or evidence history. It is held in the open research page and clears when you leave that page, change profession, sign out or refresh. Usage counters remain for rate limiting. There is no claim of zero retention or UK-only processing.

The service checks clinic membership and workspace assignment server-side. A shared 20-request hourly limit applies per account; failed attempts may count. Research requests do not consume clinic consultation credits or document AI revisions. This separate allowance does not unlock clinical processing after trial expiry. Access and supplier arrangements remain subject to the clinic’s agreed scope; this notice does not retrospectively amend an existing agreement.