In contrast, the vendors selling these tools enjoy broad indemnification. They claim their software is merely“ advisory,” shielding themselves from malpractice suits while capturing the profits of increased efficiency. This leaves the physician responsible for a product defect they cannot control, explain or fix.
Kentucky Needs a Strategic Solution from Physicians
To fight back, we must find ways to protect ourselves despite federal restrictions on state-level AI regulation. No insurance claim should be denied or downcoded by an algorithm, AI-based or not, unless a Kentucky-licensed physician has reviewed the medical record. We also need transparency, due process rights and statutory indemnification for all types of algorithms, whether AI-based or not.
A few states have templates we can follow:
» Arizona’ s HB 2175( 2025): Prohibits health insurers from using AI as the primary method to deny a claim and mandates that any adverse determination involving medical judgment must be reviewed by a human physician licensed in that state.
» Texas’ s SB 1188( 2025): Requires physicians to personally review and sign off on all AI-generated medical records or diagnostic suggestions before they are integrated into a patient’ s permanent file.
» California’ s AB 489( 2026): Prohibits AI systems from using terms or design elements( like“ M. D.” or“ Dr.”) that falsely imply the system holds a health care license or is a human professional.
Furthermore, we must address the ambiguities in liability. We should propose statutory indemnification for physicians forced to use specific algorithms by a hospital system or insurer. If a physician is restricted from overriding an algorithm without penalty, the liability must shift to the entity that deployed the code.
Preserving the Human Element in Medicine
AI is a double-edged sword, but we do not have to let it cut us. By asserting our rights under state insurance and contract law, we can create a regulatory environment where innovation serves the patient rather than a quarterly earnings report. The“ art of medicine” has always been about the human connection, the ability to look a patient in the eye, to hold a hand in times of despair and to make a decision based on experience, empathy and science. No algorithm can replicate that. It is our duty to ensure that no algorithm is ever allowed to overrule it.
Dr. Higgins is a rhinologist in private practice at Kentuckiana ENT, a division of ENTCC, and President and Chairman of the Board of ENT Care Centers( ENTCC).
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