Official Summary Text
AB 2575, as amended, Ortega.
Health care services: artificial intelligence.
(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities and clinics by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law generally makes a violation of these provisions a crime. Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California for the licensing, regulation, and discipline of physicians and surgeons. Existing law requires a health facility, clinic, physician’s office, or office of a group practice that uses generative artificial intelligence to generate written or verbal patient communications pertaining to patient clinical information, as defined, to ensure that those communications include both a disclaimer that indicates to the patient that a communication was generated by generative artificial intelligence, as specified, and clear instructions describing how a patient may contact a human health care
provider, employee, or other appropriate person.
This bill would require a health facility, clinic, physician’s office, or office of a group practice that uses or deploys a
covered tool,
clinical decision support system,
as defined, for patient care to provide written notice of required information to any licensed health care professional or other person using a
covered tool
clinical decision support system
or viewing outputs from a
covered tool.
clinical decision support system.
The bill would require, among other things, the disclosure to include a notice that a worker providing direct patient care is
permitted
authorized
to override the output of a
covered tool
clinical decision support system
if, in the judgment of the worker acting
in
within
their scope of practice, an override is
appropriate for the patient, or as necessary to comply with applicable law, including civil rights law.
necessary to meet the applicable standard of care or comply with applicable law.
The bill would specify the required time and manner the disclosure is to be provided pursuant to these provisions. By placing new requirements on health facilities and clinics, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with enforcement of various labor laws, including investigation of employee complaints.
This bill would declare it is the policy of the state that a worker providing direct patient care be free to use their professional judgment to make assessments and decisions within their scope of practice as appropriate for their
patients and that it is public policy of the state that a worker should not be penalized for relying in good faith on technology that the licensed health care professional’s employer has selected or approved for their use in patient care.
patients.
The bill would prohibit an employer from
using or deploying technology to replace or eliminate a worker’s use of professional judgment in patient care and would prohibit an employer from
retaliating or discriminating against a worker providing patient care, as specified. The bill would authorize a worker who is subject to retaliation or discrimination in violation of these provisions to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner against an employer.
(3) Existing law provides that everyone is responsible not only for the result of their willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by their want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person. Existing law prohibits a defendant who developed, modified, or used artificial intelligence, as defined, from asserting a defense that the
artificial intelligence autonomously caused the harm to the plaintiff.
This bill would prohibit a defendant who developed, modified,
or used artificial intelligence or
selected, or deployed
a clinical decision support
system, as those terms are defined,
system
that is alleged to have harmed the plaintiff from asserting a defense that the failure of a licensed health care professional or other health care worker to override an output of the
artificial intelligence or
clinical decision support system is a
superseding cause severing the defendant’s liability for the alleged harm.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.