Key points
- Texas added two AI rules on top of HIPAA. SB 1188 lets a practitioner use AI for diagnostic support only if they review every AI-created record and tell patients, and HB 149 requires AI disclosure no later than the day care starts.12
- Since 1 January 2026, electronic health records of Texas patients, including those held by cloud providers, must be physically maintained in the United States or a US territory.1
- Texas is a one-party consent state for recording, and its Medical Records Privacy Act gives patients their electronic record within 15 business days of a written request.34
- In Dallas, 35.1% of residents aged five and over speak Spanish at home, so the front desk answers in two languages every day.6
- wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. A clinician reviews and signs every AI draft.
Summary
A Dallas clinic can use AI for notes and the front desk in 2026 when it tells patients before care starts, has a clinician review every AI-created record and keeps records inside the United States. Those Texas duties sit on top of HIPAA and the state's one-party recording rule.
Dallas clinics now answer every enquiry the evening it arrives, in English or Spanish, and finish notes before the last patient leaves. Texas set the rules for that work in 2025.
Part of the Joint Commission hub, with the framework explained, a readiness checklist and 8 guides.
Part of the AAAHC hub, with the framework explained, a readiness checklist and 7 guides.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee a Spanish WhatsApp enquiry from a Dallas patient become an approved booking with a deposit, in fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily.
| Body or law | Rule | What to ask | How wai meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Health and Safety Code 183.002 (SB 1188) | Records of Texas patients physically maintained in the US from 1 January 2026, including cloud storage | Which country holds every copy, including backups and AI processing | Records hosted in the clinic's own country, set up with the clinic |
| Texas Health and Safety Code 183.005 (SB 1188) | AI used for diagnostic support needs clinician review of every AI-created record and disclosure to patients | Who signs each AI draft, and is the signature logged | Every note and letter stays a draft until a clinician signs it |
| HB 149, TRAIGA | Plain-language AI disclosure no later than the first day of care | Where the disclosure sits in booking and intake | The clinic's disclosure can be linked from each service description on the booking page |
| Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 181 | Staff training within 90 days of hire and an electronic record within 15 business days of a written request | How fast can a full patient record be exported | Every message, draft and signature logged and exportable |
| Texas Penal Code 16.02 | One-party consent to record | How the patient is told before the scribe starts | The clinic asks first, using the consent form template, and the clinician signs the note |
| HIPAA | Business associate agreement with vendors handling PHI | When the BAA is signed | For Checkout, a BAA is signed before go-live |
The private care market in Dallas
The city of Dallas had an estimated 1,329,491 residents on 1 July 2025, inside a Dallas County of 2,661,397.5 Health care and social assistance businesses in the city took $25.7 billion in receipts in 2022, the most recent Economic Census year.5
25.5% of city residents under 65 have no health insurance, so a clear self-pay price on the booking page earns bookings here.5 Every physician practising here is licensed by the Texas Medical Board, whose medical records standards SB 1188 now ties to AI-created records.91
The rules a Dallas clinic works under
HIPAA sets the federal floor. Texas adds four layers on top.
SB 1188, in force from 1 September 2025, added Chapter 183 to the Health and Safety Code. Section 183.002 requires a covered entity to keep electronic health records of Texas patients physically maintained in the United States or a US territory, including records stored by a cloud provider, from 1 January 2026.1 Section 183.005 allows a practitioner to use AI for diagnostic purposes if they act within their licence and review all records created with AI in line with Texas Medical Board standards, and requires them to disclose that use to patients.1
HB 149, the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, took effect on 1 January 2026. Where an AI system is used in relation to a health care service, the provider must give the patient a clear, plain-language disclosure no later than the date the service is first provided, and a hyperlink to a web page is allowed.2
The Texas Medical Records Privacy Act, Chapter 181, defines a covered entity more widely than HIPAA, reaching anyone who handles protected health information for gain.4 It requires staff training within 90 days of hire, a posted notice when records are disclosed electronically, and an electronic copy of the record within 15 business days of a patient's written request.4
Recording is governed by Penal Code section 16.02, which permits interception where the person is a party to the communication or one party has given prior consent.3 Patients still expect to be asked, and the guide to US recording laws covers patients calling in from other states.
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. wai is compliant with these rules and built for clinics in Dallas. Records for a Dallas clinic stay in the US, and for Checkout a business associate agreement is signed before anything goes live.8 Every note stays a draft until a clinician signs it.
The languages Dallas patients write in
41.2% of Dallas residents aged five and over speak a language other than English at home, against 42.9% across Dallas County.5 Spanish accounts for most of it, spoken at home by 424,346 people, or 35.1%, in the 2019 to 2023 American Community Survey.6 Other Indo-European languages reach 2.2% and Asian and Pacific Island languages 2.1%.6
wai works in any language.7 The reply goes out in the patient's language only after a member of the team has read and approved it.
What a demo shows in Dallas
The demo starts with a WhatsApp message sent at 9.40pm, in Spanish, asking whether a mother and her son can both be seen on Saturday morning. wai reads it in the patient's thread, reads the clinicians' busy times from Google Calendar or Outlook, finds two adjoining open slots and drafts the reply. The coordinator approves it the next morning in one tap.
The booking link takes a deposit in US dollars through the clinic's own Stripe account, with the clinic as merchant of record and no wai subscription or setup fee for Checkout.8 The receipt and intake form follow straight away, and the clinic's TRAIGA disclosure can be linked from each service description, which HB 149 expressly allows.2
After the consult, the clinician edits and signs the drafted note and letter.
For health systems and payers in Dallas
North Texas hospital groups and health plans can have a system of their own built on wai, under their brand, with data, configuration and model rights agreed in the contract. The work starts with one pathway and its measures, set out on the organisations page.
Where to start
First, write the one-paragraph AI disclosure HB 149 requires and link it from each service on the booking page and the intake form, starting from the consent form template.2 Second, add AI review to the clinical records policy and name who signs each note, to meet section 183.005.1
Third, post self-pay prices for each service on the booking page. Fourth, sort last month's enquiries into English and Spanish, and by the hour they arrived, so the demo runs on the clinic's real mix. Texas law here is as read on 14 October 2026, and the clinic's counsel should confirm how it applies.
Send us last month's enquiries by language and hour, and we show the Saturday they would have filled.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Dallas clinic have to tell patients it uses AI?
Can our patient records be hosted outside the United States?
No. From 1 January 2026, section 183.002 requires electronic health records of Texas patients to be physically maintained in the United States or a US territory, including in the cloud.1
Is Texas a one-party or two-party consent state for recording?
One-party. Penal Code section 16.02 permits interception where one party has given prior consent, and clinics still ask the patient before the scribe starts.3
Does the Texas Medical Records Privacy Act apply to our vendors?
It can. Chapter 181 defines a covered entity as anyone who assembles, stores or transmits protected health information for gain, which reaches beyond the HIPAA definition.4
How quickly must we give a patient their electronic record?
Within 15 business days of a written request, in electronic form, where the clinic's system can produce it.4
Can patients write to the clinic in Spanish?
Yes. wai works in any language, and a team member approves each reply before it is sent.7 Bring a real Spanish enquiry to the demo and see the draft.
Sources
- 1Texas Legislature, 2025S.B. No. 1188, enrolled text, adding Health and Safety Code Chapter 183Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 2Texas Legislature, 2025H.B. No. 149, Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, enrolled textRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 3Texas Constitution and Statutes, Texas Legislative CouncilPenal Code Chapter 16, section 16.02, unlawful interceptionRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 4Texas Constitution and Statutes, Texas Legislative CouncilHealth and Safety Code Chapter 181, Medical Records PrivacyRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 5US Census Bureau, 2025QuickFacts, Dallas city, Texas and Dallas County, TexasRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 6US Census Bureau, 2024American Community Survey 2019 to 2023 5-year estimates, table S1601, language spoken at home, Dallas cityRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 7wai, 2026wai changelog, intake answered by voice in any languageRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 8wai, 2026wai CheckoutRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 9Texas Medical Board, 2026Texas Medical BoardRead 14 October 2026Read source
Every Dallas enquiry answered the evening it arrives.
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