When AI Writes Back: Ethical Considerations by Physicians on AI-Drafted Patient Message Replies

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
• Clinical Practice Ethics

Background:

• Physician burnout is exacerbated by the growing volume of patient messages.
• Generative AI (GenAI) offers a potential solution for automating patient message replies.
• Ethical implications of GenAI in clinical communication require thorough investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the ethical considerations of using Generative AI for drafting patient messages.
• To understand physicians' perspectives on GenAI implementation in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interview study.
• Conducted with 21 physicians participating in a Generative AI pilot program.

Main Results:

• Key ethical considerations include the need for physician oversight, transparency in AI use, and obtaining patient consent.
• Physicians highlighted potential patient misunderstanding of AI's role and emphasized patient privacy and data security.
• Participants believe ethical responsibility for GenAI use rests with the users, not the technology itself.

Conclusions:

• Physician oversight, transparency, patient consent, and data security are essential for ethical GenAI deployment.
• Clear guidelines are needed to address patient understanding and ensure responsible use of AI in clinical communication.
• Findings inform the future implementation of Generative AI in healthcare, emphasizing user accountability.