(Image caption: Patricia Kosseim, Ontario's information and privacy commissioner | Credit: IPC's website)
On Data Privacy Day on Jan. 28, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) published new guidance to enable the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) scribes within the health sector.
In its news release, the IPC shared that it released the new guidance titled “AI Scribes: Key Considerations for the Health Sector” during its public event called “Trustworthy AI in Health: The Promise, Perils, and Protections.”
“Trust remains at the core of a patient-centred health system,” said Patricia Kosseim, Ontario’s information and privacy commissioner, in the news release. “Without trust, innovation will fall short of all its hopes and promises.”
The IPC noted that its new guidance aims to help health professionals protect personal health information, mitigate the risk of bias and inaccuracies, and abide by Ontario’s health privacy law through a strong, privacy-first framework focusing on essential governance and accountability measures.
“Health providers must put in place the core privacy, governance, and accountability measures needed before introducing new AI tools into their practice, if they want to earn the social licence to use them and keep patients onside as willing and equal partners in their own care,” Kosseim said in the news release.
The IPC noted that its new guidance seeks to help health professionals assess vendors and AI systems, set clear contractual safeguards, and monitor AI systems over time.
The IPC said its guidance aims to align with the recently released joint principles for the responsible use of AI, developed by the IPC and the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The IPC added that the principles highlight the need for AI scribes and other AI systems to be valid, reliable, safe, privacy-protective, human rights-affirming, transparent, and accountable.
According to the IPC, the guidance and the companion checklist include practical information covering the entire AI lifecycle, expectations, and best practices aiming to help health information custodians contemplating developing, procuring, or using AI scribes and other AI systems promote patient trust.
The IPC noted that the release of the guidance coincides with new guidance on AI scribes from its counterparts at the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.
More on AI scribes
The IPC acknowledged that AI scribes can help healthcare providers reduce administrative burden and improve the quality of interactions between providers and their patients.
However, the IPC emphasized that these AI tools can result in serious risks to privacy, security, and human rights if used irresponsibly.