Is AI the Right Fit for Your Clinic? Key Considerations Before You Implement

AI tools, like transcription apps, are revolutionizing healthcare by speeding up processes and reducing tedious tasks. But before diving in, it’s critical to ask: Is this the right choice for your clinic? A game plan is essential to assess risks, outline goals, and document decisions. Here’s what you need to know.

Essential Steps to Evaluate AI for Your Clinic

When introducing AI into your clinic, following a structured process ensures thoughtful decision-making and minimizes potential risks. Clinic managers are telling me that their docs quickly download AI apps to their phone and start dictating clinic notes. Then they want a way to upload these into their electronic medical records (EMR).

As the clinic manager or privacy officer, you need to pause and consider the privacy and security implications. Here are 6 steps to help you evaluate AI for your clinic.

The Role of AI in Clinics

Artificial intelligence mimics human actions to process information and assist decision-making. However, it’s crucial to remember that AI tools complement human judgment—they don’t replace it. For example, when assessing AI for transcription, keep in mind:

• Hardware, Software, and Data: AI apps rely on all three. Ensure you understand where data will be stored and processed.
• Integration: Will the tool integrate seamlessly with your EMR, or will you need to adapt workflows?

Transcription Workflow Scenarios to Consider

Trending AI projects in healthcare include using AI to assist with the generating clinic notes. Two common workflows for AI transcription tools are:

1. Local Processing: Dictations are transcribed directly on your device. Data doesn’t leave your clinic, but users must delete files after processing to avoid breaches.
2. Cloud-Based Systems: The tool listens during patient consultations, processes data in the cloud, and generates a text document which is uploaded to your EMR.

Anticipate how you will integrate the tool into your practice. Consider the following questions.

• Accuracy: Who will review the transcribed reports to ensure they accurately capture the clinical conversation? AI tools can struggle with accents, unclear speech, or poor microphone usage.
• Quality Assurance: Evaluate whether the AI effectively handles nuances in language, such as patients who are not strong English speakers. Ensure the clinical summaries are complete.
• Efficiency vs. Quality: While AI can save time, the generated reports must meet quality standards. It may be that an AI-prompted clinical note is more complete than one that is written manually by the healthcare provider. Balance efficiency with the need for high-quality documentation.
• Ethical Considerations: Ensure the AI’s interpretation of clinical conversations remains neutral and unbiased.

Starting small can help. For example, use the tool for specific patient visits or with one or two providers before scaling up.

Vetting the Vendor

Selecting a vendor for your AI tool requires thoughtful consideration to ensure you choose a provider with the experience and reputation you trust. The right vendor will help you implement the tool securely and effectively.

Ask these key questions:

• How does the vendor safeguard health data?
• Where will data be stored (locally, in Canada, or internationally)?
• Have they conducted independent security audits?
• How do they handle biases in AI-generated data?

A trusted vendor should answer these questions transparently. For help, check out the Canada Health Infoway’s checklist [link] for evaluating AI tools.

Privacy and Compliance

A privacy impact assessment (PIA) is a process to assess the impact of new or change to existing administrative practice, information system or practices relating to the collection, use, disclosure of personal (health) information.

The PIA documents the reasonable safeguards that you will take to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and security of health information.

Changes in technology, like implementing AI tools, trigger the need for a PIA. In particular, a PIA for transcription AI tools will include these questions.

• How Will you Notify Patients? Inform patients how their data will be collected, processed, and used. Clearly communicate this through notices, laminated summaries, or consent forms.
• Information Management Agreements (IMA). Ensure the vendor IMA include robust privacy clauses and clear restrictions on data use and secondary purposes.
• Where is the Source Data Maintained? In a transcription app, know where the audio files are stored and how long they are kept. Automate deleting temporary files once their purpose is served, and ensure compliance with data retention policies.
• How Will You Secure the Integrity of the Current Patient Record and Reduce Risk? Whenever you add new systems, you also increase the risk of compromise. Call on your computer network vendor and EMR vendor to help you assess the new AI Tool and how it might impact your current systems.

Next Steps: Plan, Document, and Ask for Help

Implementing AI takes time, effort, and clear documentation. Outline your workflow based on the steps outlined in this article: define your goals, vet the vendor, understand the workflow, conduct a risk assessment, update your policies, and monitor for accuracy, efficiency, and compliance. Then, ensure policies are updated, and staff are trained on the new processes. For guidance, visit Practice Management Success Membership or explore resources from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (for example, AI: Guidance for Small Custodians on the use of Artificial Intelligence) and the Canada Health Infoway (for example, Preparing the Health Care Community for AI Implementations

Have questions about a PIA for your AI implementation? Reach out to me—I’m here to help you with your privacy compliance.

AI tools offer exciting possibilities, but success lies in thoughtful implementation. Take the first step by assessing your clinic’s needs and evaluating risks. With the right approach, you can harness the power of AI while safeguarding patient trust.