AI Scribes in the Health Sector: A Discussion Across Three IPC Offices

Artificial intelligence scribes are gaining popularity and being rapidly adopted across Canada due to their potential to relieve administrative burden and positively transform the interactions between health care providers and the people they care for. Various pilot evaluations and vendor of record programs have been launched across the country to assess and encourage the adoption of these technologies. Although the anticipated benefits of AI scribes are exciting, they also have the potential to introduce significant new legal, privacy, cybersecurity, human rights and ethical risks. Representatives from the offices of the information and privacy commissioners in Ontario, British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador will discuss recent guidance and perspectives from their jurisdictions to help regulated entities appreciate the risks and privacy considerations related to AI scribes and to assist them in understanding their obligations and expectations. The presenters will outline each jurisdiction’s perspectives and approach to AI scribe guidance, discuss the ways they may differ and why, highlighting where there is resounding agreement amongst them.  

What you will learn:

• The AI scribe guidance and perspectives from IPCs in Ontario, British Columbia and Newfoundland.

• How and why guidance or perspectives may differ between these jurisdictions.

• The common emphasis across these regulators regarding the risks, privacy considerations and actions that regulated entities should take when procuring, implementing and using an AI scribe in the health sector.

• A health sector and implementation view on AI scribe guidance and perspectives that are emerging from Canadian regulators.