Articles | 08/15/2023
Partner Leeann Habte Quoted in Bloomberg Law
Article Addresses AI for Health Care and the Risk of Violating Health Privacy Laws
Best Best & Krieger LLP Partner Leeann Habte was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article discussing the use of artificial intelligence tools health care providers are using to automate clinical visits, and the risk it has of violating health privacy laws.
Habte says the regulatory status of generative AI for transcribing and summarizing patient information is unclear.
“If we look at it on its face, where it’s doing nothing more than transcribing patient information or summarizing that information, we would say it’s performing a service for a covered entity,” she said. “And under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, it would be regulated as a business associate, and there’s no need for patient consent or anything of that nature.”
She later says that hospitals using patient data to train their AI tools must address concerns about patient data ingestion and disclosure for product-development purposes.
“I think the question about whether patient authorization is required for use of information is certainly a consideration,” she said.
The full Bloomberg Law article can be viewed here.
Habte says the regulatory status of generative AI for transcribing and summarizing patient information is unclear.
“If we look at it on its face, where it’s doing nothing more than transcribing patient information or summarizing that information, we would say it’s performing a service for a covered entity,” she said. “And under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, it would be regulated as a business associate, and there’s no need for patient consent or anything of that nature.”
She later says that hospitals using patient data to train their AI tools must address concerns about patient data ingestion and disclosure for product-development purposes.
“I think the question about whether patient authorization is required for use of information is certainly a consideration,” she said.
The full Bloomberg Law article can be viewed here.