Abstract
Medical artificial intelligence (AI) is a key component of China’s new generation AI development strategy, contributing to improved diagnosis and treatment outcomes while reducing medical risks. However, it also has inherent limitations, as it cannot fully replace physicians, nor can it be recognized as an independent subject of medical behavior or medical crimes.
The application of medical AI poses challenges for physicians in fulfilling their duty to provide adequate explanations and disclosures. It is necessary to reasonably delineate the boundaries of physicians’ explanatory and disclosure obligations within AI-assisted medical activities, reform the system through which patients obtain medical information, and fully safeguard patients’ right to informed consent.
Moreover, the application of medical AI impacts the scope of physicians’ duty of care. Physicians should examine and verify the diagnostic and treatment recommendations generated by medical AI, supervise its operational processes, and fulfill the duty of care expected of a rational physician, thereby assuming reasonable medical obligations. The standard for assessing physicians’ duty of care in the context of medical AI should differ from that applied when using ordinary instruments or equipment. Physicians face a dilemma in foreseeing and mitigating risks associated with the use of medical AI. Thus, it is imperative to establish a conducive system for the development of medical AI that addresses the unique challenges posed to physicians' duty of care within such environments.
Keywords
Medical Artificial Intelligence; Duty to Explain and Inform; Duty of Care; Standard of Care
Author Profile
Pi Yong, Professor at Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property, Tongji University; Research Fellow at the Institute of Cyberspace Governance, Wuhan University; Doctoral Supervisor.
Original Source: Science of Law (Journal of Northwest University of Political Science and Law), 2021, Vol. 39, No. 01, pp. 134-148. DOI:10.16290/j.cnki.1674-5205.2021.01.013.
