New law requiring medical professionals to disclose the use of AI communications goes into effect January 1

CALIFORNIA – A new law, AB 3030, requiring medical professionals to disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) when communicating with patients will go into effect January 1, 2025.

According to recent reports, around 75% of leading healthcare organizations are experimenting with GenAI.

GenAI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to create new content based on patterns and data they’ve been trained on. This can include generating text, images, audio, video, or other types of data.

Unlike traditional AI systems that only analyze or classify data, GenAI produces content that often mimicks human creativity and decision-making processes.

While only 1 out of 5 physicians believe patients would be concerned about the use of GenAI in a diagnosis, most Americans — 80%, say they would be concerned.

GenAI for patient communications

The new law requires that a health facility, clinic, physician’s office, or office of a group practice that uses GenAI communications pertaining to patient clinical information ensure that they include:

(1) a disclaimer that indicates to the patient that a communication was generated by GenAI, and;

(2) clear instructions describing how a patient may contact a human health care provider, employee, or other appropriate person.

The bill would exempt a human licensed health care provider who reads and reviews the communication from this requirement.

According to Shepard Mullin law firm the law limits the scope of communication to “patient clinical information” – information relating to the health status of a patient, because errors in care-related communications have potential to cause greater patient harm.

A violation of the provisions by a physician would be subject to the jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California or Osteopathic Medical Board of California.

Other AI laws

The new law is a part of the state’s broader initiative to reduce the potential harms of GenAI.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed 17 bills covering the regulation of GenAI technology including cracking down on deepfakes, requiring AI watermarking, protecting children and workers, and combating AI-generated misinformation.