Most cardiology practices adopting AI scribes, ambient documentation, or AI-assisted reads have asked the vendor about HIPAA. Far fewer have asked their insurance broker a simpler question: if something goes wrong with an AI-assisted decision, are we covered?
Most policies are “silent” on AI
A recent Gallagher analysis on AI liability makes the point plainly: most insurance policies neither clearly cover nor clearly exclude AI-driven losses. Insurers are starting to close that gap. AI exclusions have already been filed for general liability policies, and Gallagher flags medical misdiagnosis from AI tools as a professional liability question insurers are now weighing.
For a practice, that means the coverage you think you have may change at your next renewal, and the change may arrive as a single new exclusion buried in the paperwork.
Four questions to ask your broker in writing
- Does our professional liability policy cover claims involving AI-assisted documentation or diagnosis?
- Are there any AI or “algorithm” exclusions in our current policy or renewal paperwork?
- Does our cyber policy cover an AI vendor’s data breach involving our patients?
- What documentation would the carrier want to see about how we use AI?
What carriers will want to see
The practices in the best position at renewal will be the ones that can show three things on paper:
- What the AI tools do. An inventory of every AI tool in use, what it touches, and which vendor runs it.
- Who reviews the output. A written human-review policy: which AI outputs a clinician must review and sign off on before they enter the record or drive a decision.
- How patient data is protected. A signed Business Associate Agreement for each tool that touches PHI, and confirmation that patient data is not used to train the vendor’s models.
This is the same documentation HIPAA already expects for any tool that handles PHI. Building it once serves your compliance program and your insurance renewal at the same time.
How CardioWatch helps
AI governance is part of every CardioWatch program. We inventory the AI tools in your practice, put the review policy and BAAs in place, and keep that documentation current, so it is ready when your broker or carrier asks for it. Start with a Compliance Gap Assessment.
Source: Gallagher, “Not So Silent: Tackling the Complexities of AI Liability”
This article is general information about compliance program management, not legal advice. Talk to your attorney about how these rules apply to your practice.