Whether you’ve spent hours learning ChatGPT or you’re just dipping your toe into this relatively new artificial intelligence technology, one thing is clear: ChatGPT is probably being used somewhere in your medical practice, and it could be putting you at risk of compliance problems.
Why? Because even if it’s helpful in filling out charts or answering basic questions, ChatGPT does not possess true understanding or critical thinking capabilities, and it’s vulnerable to biases. In addition, it’s not meant for protecting sensitive patient information, which means important data could find its way out of your system into the wrong hands.
To get a detailed look at the compliance risks ChatGPT could pose at your practice, check out a few key facts.
1. It Risks Patient Privacy
ChatGPT is not listed as a HIPAA-compliant platform. When engaging with the technology, sensitive patient information might be disclosed unintentionally, posing a significant risk to PHI and leading to potential violations of data protection regulations, such as HIPAA. It’s essential to implement robust data handling protocols and ensure secure communication channels when using AI-based systems.
In fact, more than 100,000 ChatGPT accounts have been stolen and sold on the dark web already. If any of those contain protected health information, the practices that leaked that data could be in violation of the HIPAA laws.
2. ChatGPT Could Have Bias
Language models like ChatGPT learn from vast amounts of text data, which can inadvertently introduce biases present in the training data. This can lead to discriminatory or biased responses that may impact patient care and contribute to healthcare disparities. Regular audits and ongoing monitoring of AI systems are essential to mitigate these risks.
3. It Could Put You at Risk of Medical Liability and Malpractice
If healthcare professionals rely solely on ChatGPT for critical decisions without cross-referencing with expert opinions or using proper clinical judgment, there is a risk of medical liability and malpractice claims in case of adverse outcomes. Some physicians have already said they’ve used ChatGPT to assist in diagnosing patients, which may lead to malpractice accusations.
4. ChatGPT May Not Address the Need for Informed Consent
Interactions with ChatGPT in healthcare settings may not adequately address the need for informed consent, and may not respect patient preferences. If patients are not fully informed about the use of AI in their care or if ChatGPT interactions disregard patient preferences, compliance with informed consent regulations may be compromised.
How to Stay Compliant
Your first step is to create a policy on whether your organization is going to allow usage of ChatGPT. If so, establish how you’ll train employees and users on how to stay within the legal and privacy requirements and how to handle patient data responsibly and ethically.
You’ll also want to maintain detailed logs of ChatGPT interactions and conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance with the policies and guidelines that you established. Auditing can help identify any non-compliant use of ChatGPT and enable corrective actions to be taken.
Whether you like it or not, your staff members are probably already using ChatGPT, so now is the time to master all the compliance risks around this technology. Leslie Boles, BA, CCS, CPC, CPMA, CHC, CPC-I, CRC can help during her 60-minute online training event, Stop ChatGPT From Increasing Practice Compliance and Legal Risks. Sign up today!
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