California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 489, which prohibits AI chatbots from representing themselves as licensed healthcare professionals and allows medical licensing boards to seek injunctions against violating companies. This is part of California’s broader push to regulate AI in healthcare, including requirements for AI risk reporting and disclosure of AI use in patient communications.
Implications for Hospitals and Health Systems: Hospitals and health systems in California must ensure their AI tools clearly identify themselves as non-human and not licensed clinicians, or face potential legal action from state medical boards. They also need to comply with disclosure requirements when using generative AI for patient communications and may need to document risk assessments if they develop complex AI models internally.