This course is presented by an attorney-physician who has litigated medical malpractice cases and will discuss the current state of the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) at the point of care in medicine. Attendees will learn what AI models are currently available and doing in in medicine, the standard of care and how that applies to use of AI in medicine, and what current laws, and possible future laws, govern the use of AI in medicine. This is a new and rapidly evolving topic, and with AI in news headlines, as timely as can be.
Principles
- Understand What AI Is Actually Doing at the Point of Care
- Counsel should understand the current uses of AI in medicine, including diagnosis, clinical decision support, documentation, imaging, risk prediction, and treatment-related tools.
- The legal analysis depends in part on what the technology actually does and how clinicians use it.
- AI Does Not Eliminate the Existing Standard of Care
- The central malpractice question remains whether the provider acted consistently with the applicable standard of medical care.
- The use—or failure to use—AI may become relevant to that analysis, but AI should not automatically be treated as either the required standard or a substitute for professional medical judgment.
- Analyze the Human-AI Relationship, Not Just the Technology
- Liability questions may turn on how a clinician selected, relied upon, interpreted, verified, or disregarded an AI-generated recommendation.
- Counsel should distinguish between errors attributable to the technology itself and errors arising from the manner in which a healthcare professional used it.
- Know the Current Legal and Regulatory Landscape
- Attorneys need to identify the laws and regulations that currently govern AI’s use in healthcare, including rules affecting patient safety, privacy, medical practice, professional responsibility, and healthcare technology.
- Because this is a rapidly developing area, counsel must also recognize that today’s legal framework may change as regulators and legislatures respond to new applications of AI.
- Anticipate How AI May Change Future Malpractice Litigation
- AI creates new questions concerning informed decision-making, documentation, foreseeability, causation, expert testimony, and allocation of responsibility among physicians, healthcare institutions, and technology developers.
- Attorneys should be prepared to evaluate both traditional malpractice theories and emerging liability questions as AI becomes more integrated into clinical practice.
Syllabus
- To educate the attendees about the current state of AI use in medicine
- To educate the attendees about the standard of care and how that applies to use of AI in medicine
- To educate the attendees on the current laws, and possible future laws, governing the use of medicine
