In 2024, Kaiser Permanente announced the rollout of Abridge. Described in a press release as “ambient listening technology,” the AI-powered scribe is designed to help clinicians including mental health providers securely capture clinical notes during patient visits.
But what the description fails to indicate is that the tool records entire medical appointments, including deeply personal mental health sessions.
During these sessions, mental health professionals are required to obtain patients’ consent before using the tool. However, as shared by multiple providers, that consent process does not include explanations about how the information is handled. Nor does it say how long and where recordings are stored, or who has access to the data.
This happens in part because that information has not been shared with providers, despite their attempts to obtain it.
↩︎ link‘Empty assurances’
