AB 489: Health care professions: deceptive terms or letters: artificial intelligence.

Existing law establishes various healing arts boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs that license and regulate various healing arts licensees. Existing laws, including, among others, the Medical Practice Act and the Dental Practice Act, make it a crime for a person who is not licensed as a specified health care professional to use certain words, letters, and phrases or any other terms that imply that they are authorized to practice that profession.

Existing law requires, with certain exemptions, a health facility, clinic, physicians office, or office of a group practice that uses generative artificial intelligence, as defined, to generate written or verbal patient communications pertaining to patient clinical information, as defined, to ensure that those communications include both (1) a disclaimer that indicates to the patient that a communication was generated by generative artificial intelligence, as specified, and (2) clear instructions describing how a patient may contact a human health care provider, employee, or other appropriate person. Existing law provides that a violation of these provisions by a physician shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, as appropriate.

This bill would make provisions of law that prohibit the use of specified terms, letters, or phrases to falsely indicate or imply possession of a license or certificate to practice a health care profession, as defined, enforceable against an entity who develops or deploys artificial intelligence technology that uses one or more of those terms, letters, or phrases in its advertising or functionality. The bill would prohibit the use by AI technology of certain terms, letters, or phrases that indicate or imply that the advice or care being provided through AI is being provided by a natural person with the appropriated health care license or certificate.

This bill would make a violation of these provisions subject to the jurisdiction of the appropriate health care profession board, and would make each use of a prohibited term, letter, or phrase punishable as a separate violation.

By expanding the scope of existing crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.