Californians Sue Over AI Tool That Records Doctor Visits (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0181662426
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/26/04/13/0330204/californians-sue-over-ai-tool-that-records-doctor-visits
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/californians-sue-over-ai-tool-that-records-doctor-visits/
> Several Californians [1]sued Sutter Health and MemorialCare this week over allegations that an AI transcription tool was [2]used to record them without their consent , in violation of state and federal law. The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, states that, within the past six months, the plaintiffs received medical care at various Sutter and MemorialCare facilities.
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> During those visits, medical staff used Abridge AI. According to the complaint, this system "captured and processed their confidential physician-patient communications. Plaintiffs did not receive clear notice that their medical conversations would be recorded by an artificial intelligence platform, transmitted outside the clinical setting, or processed through third-party systems." The complaint adds that these recordings "contained individually identifiable medical information, including but not limited to medical histories, symptoms, diagnoses, medications, treatment discussions, and other sensitive health disclosures communicated during confidential medical consultations."
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> In recent years, Abridge's software and AI service have been rapidly deployed across major health care providers nationwide, including Kaiser Permanente, the Mayo Clinic, Duke Health, and many more. When activated, the software captures, transcribes, and summarizes conversations between patients and doctors, and it turns them into clinical notes. Sutter Health began [3]partnering with Abridge two years ago. Sutter spokesperson Liz Madison said the company is aware of the lawsuit. "We take patient privacy seriously and are committed to protecting the security of our patients' information," Madison said. "Technology used in our clinical settings is carefully evaluated and implemented in accordance with applicable laws and regulations."
[1] https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28035341-govuscourtscand46737610/
[2] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/californians-sue-over-ai-tool-that-records-doctor-visits/
[3] https://www.abridge.com/press-release/abridge-sutter-health
Avoidable (Score:2)
I've been doing a lot of work with locally run open source models for document processing, summarizing etc. There is absolutely no reason to send your data off site.
So? (Score:3)
I hope the plaintiffs win, and win big. But unless and until the awards in cases like this are big enough to pose an existential threat to the offenders, companies will never take these concerns seriously.
These fuckers will need the corporate equivalent of a good solid kick in the nuts - perhaps several times - before they start to behave responsibly. But given that the US is a full-fledged broligarchic corporatocracy, that well-deserved crotch shot is extremely unlikely.
Re: (Score:3)
We need class action reforms. It should both include punitive damages and limit the lawyer's percentage to 10 percent max (which would almost be the same pay if punitive damages are added to increase the base payout per 'plaintiff.'
False Accusations (Score:2)
I know a private practice doc who uses one after having some obviously bogus allegations made against him by a miscreant and her ambulance chaser.
The big hospital systems can afford to have a second person in the room.
I don't like anything about the current system but having a third party doing the recording removes allegations of editing by local recordings.
There are compromise cryptosystem that can handle both concerns ... gotta get one done soon if nobody else will do it (hashes of hashes of hashes).
Hacked (Score:3, Informative)
"We take patient privacy seriously and are committed to protecting the security of our patients' information." — Sutter, 2026
"Sutter Health, a healthcare provider serving Northern California, has recently confirmed that patient data was compromised in a hacking incident [that affected] 84,000 patients." — HIPAA Journal, 2023