Key points
- Paris had 2,722 general practitioners and 2,446 dentists in 2025 for 2,103,778 residents, by INSEE's count of local health professionals.1
- Health data hosted for a French clinic needs an HDS-certified host, and the revised HDS framework keeps storage inside the European Economic Area and requires hosts to disclose access from outside it.4
- HAS asks that every use of generative AI in care be conscious, supervised and reasoned, and French criminal law presumes consent to recording only when it happens openly and the person could object.56
- 87% of people in France who use messaging apps use WhatsApp, and 20.1% of Paris residents are immigrants, so patients write on many channels and in many languages.72
Summary
A Paris clinic can use AI for notes and patient messages when health data sits with an HDS-certified host inside the European Economic Area, patients know a consult is being recorded, and a clinician supervises every output as HAS asks. wai is set up that way with each clinic, with the AI drafting and a person at the clinic approving every note and message.
Every WhatsApp message answered before the next morning, and every consultation letter signed the same day. French rules set the route through certified hosting, the national shared record and guidance from HAS.
Part of the HAS 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 Paris clinic's overnight WhatsApp messages answered with drafts the team approves, and a consultation letter signed the same afternoon, in fifteen minutes.
| Body or law | Rule | What to ask | How wai meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDS certification, Code de la santé publique | Health data hosted for a clinic only with an HDS-certified host, storage inside the EEA | Which HDS certificate covers which activities | Records hosted in the clinic's own country, set up with each clinic |
| Haute Autorité de santé, A.V.E.C. guide | Generative AI used in a conscious, supervised and reasoned way | Who checks each output before it leaves | AI drafts, a clinician or assistant approves every note and message |
| Code pénal, Article 226-1 | No recording of private words without consent | How is the patient told before recording | The doctor asks before the ambient note starts |
| Mon espace santé and the DMP | Key documents shared with the patient's national record | How do signed documents reach the DMP | Built to connect, set up with each clinic |
| GDPR and the CNIL | Health data is a special category with strict safeguards | Who processes the data and where | Subprocessors named, every draft and approval logged |
The private care market in Paris
The city of Paris counted 2,103,778 residents in INSEE's 2023 census figures.1 INSEE's 2025 inventory of local services lists 2,722 general practitioners, 2,446 dentists, 4,493 psychologists and 864 pharmacies within the city.1
Many are independent practices with one assistant at the desk, where a quick reply and a letter finished during the day mean a fuller diary and an earlier evening.
The rules a clinic in Paris works under
Doctors are registered with the Ordre des médecins,9 and health establishments in the region answer to the Agence régionale de santé Île-de-France.10 Patient data falls under the GDPR as health data, with the CNIL as the French supervisory authority.11
Hosting comes first. Anyone hosting personal health data on behalf of a clinic needs HDS certification, issued by accredited certification bodies against the HDS framework.3 The revised framework, notified to the European Commission, restricts storage of health data to a state of the European Economic Area and requires the host to tell its clients about any transfer to or remote access from outside the EEA.4
For generative AI, the Haute Autorité de santé asks that every use be conscious, supervised and reasoned, under its A.V.E.C. lines of learning the tool, verifying each output, assessing quality over time and communicating with patients.5 On recording, Article 226-1 of the Code pénal punishes recording private words without consent, and the Ministry of Justice stated in 2008 that consent is presumed only when recording happens openly and the person could object.6 Tell the patient before an ambient note starts, and record the answer.
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. wai is built to meet France's HDS health data hosting requirements for clinics in Paris. The national record is Mon espace santé, whose medical file is built on the DMP and whose secure messaging runs on MSSanté.3 wai is built to connect to Mon espace santé and the DMP. We set up your clinic's connection with you.
The languages Paris patients write in
The French census does not ask about language, so INSEE's immigration figures are the closest official guide. On average across 2020 and 2021, 20.1% of Paris residents were immigrants, about double the share for France as a whole.2
Arcep's 2026 digital barometer finds 86% of the population uses instant messaging and 87% of those users are on WhatsApp.7 wai works in any language.8 Bring real messages from your own inbox to the demo and judge each draft in the language it arrived in.
What a demo shows in Paris
A WhatsApp message sent at 23:00 asks to move a Thursday appointment. wai checks the doctor's busy times in Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar, offers an open slot and drafts the reply for the assistant to approve at 8:30. A missed call becomes a drafted text, and email, web form, WhatsApp and phone history sit in one thread per patient.
In the consultation, the note is drafted while the doctor talks, after the patient has agreed to recording, and the referral letter is ready to sign before the next patient. A deposit is taken in euros through the clinic's own Stripe account when the patient books on the clinic's website, and wai's prices are published on the pricing page.
For hospital groups, insurers and public bodies in Paris
Hospital groups, mutuelles and public bodies get wai built around a defined care pathway, with controls, data rights and exit terms agreed in the contract before deployment, and every note still signed by the clinician. Details are on the organisations page.
Where to start
First, check the host's HDS certificate, the activities it covers and its list of access from outside the EEA.4 Second, add a recording notice to your intake form and a consent field to the record, using the consent form template.
Third, write a one-page A.V.E.C. note for the team on who checks each AI output before it leaves the clinic.5 Fourth, gather a week of WhatsApp and email enquiries and bring them to a fifteen-minute demo. A sensible first pilot is one doctor and the assistant for a month, keeping their DMP-compatible software in place.
Bring a week of your own WhatsApp and email enquiries. We show the drafts, the approvals and where your records would be hosted.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Paris clinic need an HDS-certified host for AI notes?
Can a doctor in Paris record a consultation for an AI note?
Yes, with the patient's consent. Recording private words without consent is an offence under Article 226-1, and consent is presumed only when recording is open and the patient could object.6
What does HAS expect from clinicians using generative AI?
HAS asks for use that is conscious, supervised and reasoned, following its A.V.E.C. lines, with the professional checking the content generated.5
Does wai replace our DMP-compatible practice software?
wai works beside your DMP-compatible software, which keeps sending documents to the DMP. wai is built to connect to Mon espace santé and the DMP. We set up your clinic's connection with you.
Where would our records be hosted?
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic.
Can patients message us on WhatsApp?
Yes. WhatsApp, email, web forms and calls land in one thread per patient, and the team approves every reply. 87% of French messaging users already use WhatsApp.7
Sources
- 1INSEE, 2026Dossier complet, commune de Paris (75056), population 2023 and base permanente des équipements 2025Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 2INSEE, 2023Localisation des immigrés et des descendants d'immigrésRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 3Agence du numérique en santé, G_NIUS, 2026Mon espace santé, regulation profileRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 4European Commission, Technical Regulation Information System, 2023Notification 2023/0682/FR, draft order amending the health data hosting (HDS) certification frameworksRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 5Haute Autorité de santé, 2026Premières clefs d'usage de l'IA générative en santéRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 6Assemblée nationale, 2008Question écrite n° 17430 and answer of the Garde des sceaux on recording and Article 226-1 of the Code pénalRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 7Arcep, 2026Le baromètre du numérique, édition 2026Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 8wai, 2026wai changelog, intake answered by voice in any languageRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 9Conseil national de l'Ordre des médecins, 2026Conseil national de l'Ordre des médecins, homepageRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 10Agence régionale de santé Île-de-France, 2026Agence régionale de santé Île-de-France, homepageRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 11European Data Protection Board, 2026Members of the EDPB, France, Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL)Read 14 October 2026Read source
Every Paris patient answered, every letter signed the same day.
Fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily, on your own messages and diary. We reply within one working day.
Partner with us
See it on your own patients, then build it with us
Thirty minutes on your own patients, doctors and rules, in your market. We reply within one working day, and the clinics that partner with us early shape what we build next.
See what wai does between the visits