Summary
Professional guidance for doctors using AI in patient care. The guidance covers AI embedded in medical devices, AI scribes, AI tools that manage clinical inboxes, and AI systems that influence clinical decisions. It states that doctors remain responsible for clinical decisions and actions, must understand AI capabilities and limitations, check AI outputs where reasonably practicable, document AI use when it influences clinical decision-making, avoid using AI to impersonate themselves, inform patients when AI is used in care, obtain informed consent in specified higher-risk uses, and ensure privacy, data security, safety, and fairness.
Healthcare Implications
Creates a practical professional-responsibility framework for AI use by New Zealand doctors. It directly affects clinical deployment of AI scribes, decision-support tools, inbox-management systems, and AI-enabled devices by emphasizing clinician accountability, patient transparency, consent, documentation, privacy safeguards, data security, suitability for the patient population, and avoidance of bias or worsening inequities. It is guidance rather than legislation, but it gives clear expectations for safe and ethical AI use in patient-facing medical practice.