You want AI to turn a conversation into useful notes. You also want to know where the recording goes, who can read the transcript, and what remains after you delete it.
Locus performs transcription and note generation on your Mac. That can reduce the need to send content to a cloud AI service. It does not, by itself, establish a HIPAA-compliant workflow. The device, storage location, connected services, agreements and the organization’s procedures still need review.
START WITH A PRACTICE RUN
Use fictional information. Verify the configuration. Get the complete workflow approved before using real patient information.
This guide is for people evaluating local AI notes, including healthcare IT and practice administrators. It uses Locus as a concrete example and includes its current limits. Locus is in preview; this is not an approved clinical deployment recipe or a claim of certification. For the underlying concepts, read AI note takers, MCP and HIPAA: follow the data.
HIPAA safeguards cover more than confidentiality. They also address the integrity and availability of electronic protected health information. Risk analysis and organizational measures remain part of the work even when processing is local. HHS Security Rule summary →
01 / CHECK THE SETUP
Establish what “local” means on this Mac
Check the current Mac requirements before downloading models. Start with an organization-approved test device and a test library that contains only fictional material. Use the organization’s device access, encryption and recovery policies. Do not experiment on an existing patient-record library.
Check model readiness.
Open Settings → AI & language → Models. Check the Audio model and Text model. Download missing models before the practice run. The installed state says, “The models this version of Locus needs are installed.” Automatic notes explains that notes are written after recording when the Base models are ready. There is no separate “HIPAA mode” to enable.
Inspect the actual library folder.
Open Settings → Storage → Locus data folder → Open folder ↗. Check the folder and its surrounding sync configuration. The documented default is Documents/Locus; Documents may be included in iCloud Drive. A path on your Mac is not proof that no other copy exists. Review the destination before adding sensitive content.
Leave external AI access off.
Open Settings → MCP. For this basic practice run, leave MCP off. It is not required for Locus to transcribe or generate notes locally. If it is already on, account for existing connections and previously returned content rather than assuming a new off setting removes old copies.
Include remote access in the review.
Locus’s privacy policy describes a remote-access relay that is on by default. It helps paired devices connect and may carry their end-to-end encrypted traffic. The current Mac interface reviewed for this article does not expose a verified relay-off control. Keep Locus Base always on is a sleep setting, not a network-isolation switch. If your policy requires a demonstrated no-relay configuration, that requirement remains unresolved here.
Local processing has surrounding services
Paired devices and possible encrypted relay
Library sync, backups and exports
MCP client, model service and saved chats
Encryption is a useful safeguard, but “the operator cannot decrypt it” does not settle the operator’s HIPAA role. HHS distinguishes services that maintain ePHI from the narrow transmission-only conduit exception. The relay’s actual operation and contractual role need their own assessment. HHS cloud guidance →
02 / TRY A FICTIONAL NOTE
Test the path before trusting the output
The following script is invented. It describes an administrative practice task, not a patient or a clinical encounter. Read it in a quiet space where no other conversation will be captured.
SYNTHETIC INPUT — NOT A PATIENT RECORD
“This is practice meeting Cedar Seven. We reviewed the appointment reminder process. Morgan will compare the two reminder templates by Friday. No template has been approved yet. The next review is Monday. Please keep the open decision separate from the action.”
Record and finish.
In Locus on the Mac, use the green + / New meeting control at the bottom right. Read the script, then choose Finish recording. Pausing is not the same as finishing. Wait for transcription and automatic notes to complete; do not treat an in-progress or failed result as a completed note.
Check the transcript against the audio.
Use Transcript to open the transcript/audio column. Confirm the distinctive name “Cedar Seven,” the person’s name, both deadlines and the statement that nothing has been approved. Review omissions and speaker attribution. Correct errors before relying on a derived summary.
Check the draft against the transcript.
In Summary, the draft should preserve an open decision and a proposed action. It should not invent an approval, a diagnosis or a completed task. There is no required wording: evaluate the meaning. These are acceptance checks for your run, not output claimed to have been produced by Locus in this article.
Review before saving a separate copy.
Open the meeting’s More → Save as files… menu (or More → Share if that is the label in your version). Select the needed files and use Save as files… to choose an approved test destination. Open the result and check what it contains. This is file export, not a verified EHR integration or clinical sign-off process.
Record the app version, model readiness, test date, reviewer and any failed check. A successful fictional example shows how that configuration behaved for that example. It does not establish medical accuracy, performance across patients or compliance with every applicable requirement.
For a real deployment, also evaluate difficult audio, names, negation and incomplete information. Set human-review responsibilities before relying on generated notes. Recording consent and permission to process or disclose the content are separate questions.
03 / FOLLOW THE COPIES
Backup and deletion are part of the workflow
Open Settings → Storage → Easy backup. The backup controls include Manage, Choose folder and Back up now. The chosen destination deserves the same review as the working library.
Locus’s backup ZIP writer does not encrypt the archive. Use a destination protected by your organization’s approved controls. Backups can include audio, transcripts, summaries, saved voices, Ask history, preferences and items in Trash. A backup marked verified is an archive check, not a HIPAA assessment.
For the fictional practice meeting, More → Move to Trash moves it into the app’s Trash. In Trash, Delete now → Yes, delete permanently deletes the selected item through the app. This is not a verified secure-erasure guarantee. Previously exported files, existing backup archives, synced copies and text returned to another AI app require separate handling.
One note can become several copies
Working library
Check the folder, device access and sync settings.
Backup archive
Check destination protection, retention and restoration.
Exported file
Check the selected content, folder and recipient.
Connected AI
If enabled, check returned text, history and onward sharing.
Test recovery with fictional data in a separate test environment before approving a backup procedure. Do not restore over a working library just to check whether a ZIP opens. Decide who can recover the data, how recovery is tested and how long each copy is retained.
04 / OPTIONAL CONNECTIONS
Review MCP as a new disclosure path
If a team wants an external AI app to read Locus, treat that as a separate configuration. In Settings → MCP, Turn on MCP opens the explanation Share your meetings with AI apps? Read it before creating a connection.
The current scope includes existing and future meeting notes and transcripts, with titles, dates and people. It excludes recording audio, notes typed during recording and meetings in Trash. Each connection gets the same scope. A request for one date or one folder filters a query; it is not a permission boundary that limits what the connection can retrieve later.
If your policy requires patient-by-patient or meeting-by-meeting restrictions, the current MCP connection model does not provide that control. Keep MCP off for that use. A locally running client can still send retrieved text to a cloud model, so the client’s location does not settle the destination question.
You can pause a connection, turn MCP off, or use Disconnect and confirm to remove a connection. Test a new request after revocation. A response already in flight may still arrive; text already returned is not recalled. The Locus MCP guide explains the controls.
The current diagnostic logs and last-read indicator also have limits. They do not provide a complete record of which human accessed which patient note in which external organization. A client’s reported name does not prove its workspace, contractual coverage or retention settings.
For a service acting as a business associate, check the required agreement and exact service scope before PHI is sent. Selling software alone does not automatically make its vendor a business associate; actual access and service activities matter. Do not assume either that every local software vendor requires a BAA or that a local product can never require one. HHS software-vendor FAQ →
05 / KEEP A REVIEW RECORD
A worksheet for the approval conversation
Copy or print this worksheet. It supports a configuration review; completing the boxes is not a HIPAA certification. Leave an item open when evidence is missing.
Workflow and purpose: ____________________
App version / review date / owner: ____________________
Decision: Approved for stated scope / More evidence needed / Not approved
- Identify the information, users and permitted purpose.
- Record model readiness and the actual processing path.
- Record library location, sync services and device controls.
- Assess remote access, relay operation and relevant agreements.
- Record MCP status and whether its scope fits the policy.
- Inspect backup contents, destination protection and recovery evidence.
- List exports, recipients, retention and deletion responsibilities.
- Check the transcript and draft with fictional acceptance cases.
- Identify required audit evidence and any gaps in available logs.
- Assign review, incident response and reapproval responsibilities.
Before introducing PHI: the organization needs to resolve open requirements and document its decision. Revisit that decision when the app, model, account, integration, backup location or contractual terms change.
06 / COMMON QUESTIONS
What this setup does—and does not—establish
- Is Locus a HIPAA-compliant AI note taker?
- This guide does not establish that claim. Locus provides local AI processing, but a healthcare deployment requires evaluation of the complete configuration, applicable obligations and organizational procedures. Current relay, MCP scope and audit limits are material parts of that evaluation.
- Do I need ChatGPT or Claude for the basic workflow?
- No. Locus’s local transcription and automatic notes use models on the Mac. Connecting an external AI app through MCP is a separate choice that adds a recipient and potentially further processing and storage.
- Does “local” mean no internet services are involved?
- No. Local model processing is distinct from model downloads, remote device connectivity, library sync, backups and optional integrations. Check each path. The current documented relay default is on; this guide does not demonstrate a fully isolated network configuration.
- Can I use this as a clinical note template?
- The sample is an administrative test script. It does not validate SOAP, DAP or BIRP generation, clinical decision support or direct EHR integration. Define and validate any clinical use separately, with appropriate human review.
Make the next step a small, observable test
Choose one fictional recording. Inspect the transcript, generated notes and exported files. Write down the data path and the unresolved questions. That gives your team something concrete to review before any patient information is involved.
Join the Locus preview waitlist → Preview access is not clinical approval.
For broader background, see our MCP and HIPAA explainer and the Locus privacy policy.