Medical patients may notice the increased presence of artificial intelligence (AI) at their next doctor’s appointment. They may need to interact with an AI assistant when calling their doctor’s office or scheduling an appointment using the practice’s website or proprietary app.
They may also learn that their doctor’s office now uses AI assistance to facilitate faster charting for record-keeping purposes. Patients concerned about the use of AI may worry that they are now at greater risk of serious medical mistakes that could constitute malpractice.
Reviewing the specific use of AI with a skilled legal team can help patients understand this risk and whether they may have experienced malpractice.
The pros and cons of medical AI use
Using AI for repetitive job functions can reduce the strain on health care professionals and the risk of burnout among physicians. Doctors often spend their days moving rapidly between patients and then may work overtime hours inputting details about each appointment into the practice’s charting system.
Using AI to input a brief synopsis of the conversation can take pressure off physicians and allow them to see more patients.
Additionally, the use of AI for in-depth diagnostic screening can be helpful. AI can supplement human efforts to review genetic testing or complex imaging results. Unfortunately, both of these uses come with a degree of risk. AI does not have the analytical capacity of a human, which means that the software could easily misinterpret conversations or overlook potentially problematic test results that do not align with the red flags in its programming.
Additionally, AI is prone to so-called hallucinations. Generative AI programs may produce completely falsified information with no basis in reality and integrate that into reports or other writing produced by the software. Those issues make the careful review of any AI-assisted medical documentation critical for patient safety.
Who is liable for AI errors?
When AI software makes a mistake during the creation of appointment notes or when assisting with diagnostic work, the patients affected by that mistake likely have questions about their rights. Is the doctor responsible? Is their employer to blame for forcing them to adopt this technology? Is the company that designed the software ultimately liable?
Under current medical liability rules, individual physicians and their employers are still primarily liable for any AI-related errors that affect patient care. It is the responsibility of the individual medical professional and the others who work at the hospital or medical practice to review any information provided by AI for accuracy. If they misuse AI and make diagnostic errors or mistakes when formulating a treatment plan that another physician could have avoided, then the situation could constitute medical malpractice.
Those facing complicated medical malpractice claims related to the inappropriate use of AI likely need help analyzing the situation and gathering documentation. The support of an experienced lawyer is often critical for those seeking justice after experiencing medical malpractice.