Artificial intelligence has become a standard tool in most industries, including health care.
Yet, institutions are still working to draw lines around acceptable use within their specific contexts.
For instance, schools may tell students they can use the technology to craft an outline but not to write a paper. For mental health care, one legislator has suggested that the technology should go no further than administrative tasks.
Rep. Melissa Shusterman, D-Paoli, has introduced legislation into the Pennsylvania state House that would prohibit mental health professionals from using AI for any tasks beyond the administrative workload they can help to streamline.
“As artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in mental and behavioral health care settings, the potential risks associated with providing inaccurate, biased, or inconsistent medical recommendations can undermine patient care, resulting in substandard services and possible harm to the patient,” wrote Shusterman in a memo supporting the bill.
As it stands, many professionals use AI to assist with scheduling, accounting, notetaking, and emailing. Today’s business software across industries typically includes varying levels of AI, often occurring automatically, like phrasing and grammar suggestions in an email or word processing app.