Artificial Intelligence

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The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in healthcare is revolutionizing the industry, bringing efficiencies to the practice of medicine and benefits to patients. However, the negotiation of third-party AI tools requires a nuanced understanding of the tool’s application, implementation, risk and the contractual pressure points. Before entering the negotiation room, consider the following key insights:Continue Reading Key Considerations Before Negotiating Healthcare AI Vendor Contracts

2024 marked a notable year in AI and healthcare, with AI being top of mind for all healthcare players, including providers, technology companies, developers and regulators. The adoption of AI into clinical settings became more common, as scribe and clinical-decision support products gained popularity and EMR vendors incorporated AI tools into their products. The federal government released guidance, established task forces and implemented the directives of the 2023 Executive Order on AI. Similarly, state regulation began to unfold with some states passing legislation around AI’s use in healthcare.Continue Reading Healthy AI: 2024 Year in Review

Texas is joining a growing number of states in considering comprehensive laws regulating use of AI. In particular, the Texas Legislature is scheduled to consider the draft “Texas Responsible AI Governance Act” (the “Act”), which seeks to regulate development and deployment of artificial intelligence systems in Texas. Critically, as most states continue to grapple with the emergence of AI, the Act could serve as a model for other states and could prove tremendously impactful.Continue Reading Texas Considers Comprehensive AI Bill

On November 25, 2024, the Illinois State Legislature introduced House Bill 5918 IL HB5918, the Artificial Intelligence Systems Use in Health Insurance Act (“AI Act”). It provides the Illinois Department of Insurance (the “Department”) regulatory oversight of insurers using artificial intelligence for determinations that affect consumers. The proposed bill grants the Department the ability to adopt rules, including emergency rules per the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, to implement and administer the AI Act.Continue Reading Artificial Intelligence Infiltrating Healthcare in Illinois and its Effects on Insurers

On September 28, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law California Assembly Bill 3030 (“AB 3030”), known as the Artificial Intelligence in Health Care Services Bill. Effective January 1, 2025, AB 3030 is part of a broader effort to mitigate the potential harms of generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”) in California and introduces new requirements for healthcare providers using the technology.Continue Reading California Passes Law Regulating Generative AI Use in Healthcare

California Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1120 into law, which is known as the Physicians Make Decisions Act. At a high level, the Act aims to safeguard patient access to treatments by mandating a certain level of health care provider oversight when payors use AI to assess the medical necessity of requested medical services, and by extension, coverage for such medical services.Continue Reading California Limits Health Plan Use of AI in Utilization Management

This series explores legal issues related to physician burnout and potential solutions. Our first post addressed how healthcare organizations can foster the psychological safety and emotional wellbeing of their physicians. Clients regularly report that charting and documenting, and communicating with patients via EMR is a substantial contributor to physician burnout. Here, we discuss artificial intelligence as a potential way to attract, support and retain clinicians overwhelmed by ever-growing to-do lists, allowing them to focus on delivering clinical care.Continue Reading Solving for Physician Burnout: How Organizations Can Deploy AI Solutions to Effectively Support Physician Workloads and Avoid Legal Pitfalls

In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping landscapes in the healthcare industry and beyond, understanding the governance of AI technologies is paramount for organizations seeking to utilize AI systems and tools. AI governance encompasses the policies, practices, and frameworks that guide the responsible development, deployment, and operation of AI systems and tools within an organization. By adhering to established governance principles and frameworks, organizations can ensure their AI initiatives align with ethical standards and applicable law, respect human rights, and contribute positively to society. Various international organizations have set forth AI governance principles that provide organizations with a solid foundation to develop organizational AI governance based on widely shared values and goals.Continue Reading Navigating the Complex Landscape of AI Governance: Principles and Frameworks for Responsible Innovation

On August 21, 2024, Sheppard Mullin’s Healthy AI team conducted a CLE webinar on what hospitals, health systems and provider organizations should consider in building an artificial intelligence (“AI”) governance program. As they discussed, key elements of an AI governance program include: (1) an AI governance committee, (2) AI policies and procedures, (3) AI training, and (4) AI auditing and monitoring. These components of an AI governance program will help healthcare organizations embrace the complexities of AI use in healthcare by establishing appropriate guardrails and systematic practices to encourage its safe, ethical, and effective use. This post reviews each of the key elements.Continue Reading Key Elements of an AI Governance Program in Healthcare

On May 17, 2024, Colorado Governor signed into law, Senate Bill 24-205, the Colorado Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act (the “Act”). The law will take effect on February 1, 2026 and the Colorado Attorney General will have exclusive enforcement authority. As previewed in our prior blog post, the Act focuses on consumer protection issues when companies develop AI tools and imposes obligations on developers (i.e., creators) and deployers (i.e., users) of “high risk” AI systems. “High-Risk” AI systems (“HRAIS”) are defined as any AI system that “makes, or is a substantial factor in making, a consequential decision.” A substantial factor means one that (1) “assists in making a consequential decision”; (2) “is capable of altering the outcome of a consequential decision”; and (3) “is generated by an artificial intelligence system.” A consequential decision is a decision that has a material legal or similarly significant effect on matters related to education, employment, financial lending services, an essential government service, healthcare services, housing, insurance, or legal services. This article specifically reviews the impact the Act has on healthcare services.Continue Reading Colorado’s Artificial Intelligence Act Impact on Healthcare Decisions

At last week’s America’s Physician Group Spring conference in San Diego, California, our team heard firsthand how physicians are leading efforts to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in ambulatory and inpatient settings in major healthcare systems across the nation. Physician and IT leaders described in detail their organizations’ efforts to identify safe, cost-effective, desirable ways to leverage AI to enhance the efficiency and quality of patient care and reduce physicians’ administrative workload. Here, we highlight key approaches that have generated early success for various health systems and physician groups, as well as key pitfalls that participants looking to adopt these technologies need to account for in their planning.Continue Reading How Physicians are Pioneering Use of AI Applications in Ambulatory and Inpatient Care