Perth doctors warned for using ChatGPT to write patient medical records

Doctors in Australia using ChatGPT to write medical notes, which were then uploaded to patient record systems, were ordered to stop by their CEO.

An email shared with ABC showed that doctors at Perth's South Metropolitan Health Service (SMHS) had been using software such as ChatGPT to write medical notes which were then being uploaded to patient record systems, thereby potentially compromising patient confidentiality and privacy.

The incident resulted in the hospital group's CEO ordering staff across the health service's five hospitals not to use AI chatbots. "Crucially, at this stage, there is no assurance of patient confidentiality when using AI bot technology, such as ChatGPT, nor do we fully understand the security risks,' warned SMHS chief executive, Paul Forden.

It also led the Australian Medical Association to call for national regulation on AI in healthcare.

Research, advocacy 🧮

• Dave T., Athaluri S.A., Singh S. (2023). ChatGPT in medicine: an overview of its applications, advantages, limitations, future prospects, and ethical considerations

• Liu J., Wang C., Liu S. (2023). Utility of ChatGPT in Clinical Practice

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-28/ama-calls-for-national-regulations-for-ai-in-health/102381314

• https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/extremely-unwise-warning-over-use-of-chatgpt-for-m

• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/27/chatgpt-health-industry-hospitals-ai-regulations-ama

• https://www.avant.org.au/news/using-chatgpt-to-help-with-paperwork-could-breach-patient-privacy/