The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has released new guidelines to support practitioners in their day-to-day use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. In an ever-evolving digital world, understanding the legislative and policy environment surrounding AI in health care is paramount. These guidelines reflect the Commission’s emphasis on rigorous evidence and policy-based support for safe AI deployment.
AI Clinical Use Guide
As is the case with all healthcare technologies, practitioners must meet their professional and legal obligations, including Ahpra and National Board guidance, in relation to patient safety and best practice when utilising AI tools. Ahpra has previously published information on its website related to how practitioners can meet their professional obligations when using AI. That resource can be found here.
Outlined in the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s AI Clinical Use Guide for practitioners, meeting these obligations requires practitioners to:
- Understand how the AI tool will be used in their workflow and recognise their accountability for all AI findings that inform a clinical decision, finding, or documented record.
- Understand the problems the AI tool is meant to solve, as well as potential clinical or operational benefits or risks.
- Confirm the evidence base for the tool, including its risks and limitations and how to manage these.
- Be prepared to discuss the potential benefits, risks, and limitations of AI with patients.
- Recognise ethical implications, including the potential for inequity and bias in how AI tools use and process data and generate outputs such as recommendations.
- Know that an AI tool meets the definition of a medical device when used for diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction, prognosis, treatment, or alleviation of disease, injury, or disability and must therefore comply with TGA regulations.
- Educate yourself on how AI tools operate, either through your organisation or external avenues.
- Comply with the governance and oversight for AI in your organisation.
Contained in the Commission’s Guide are guidelines and advice for practitioners in the three distinct stages of AI use: before use, while using, and after use. To read those, click here.
Additional Resources
In order to educate practitioners, the Commission provided two AI Safety Scenarios, providing examples of AI tools that use machine learning in medical imaging to demonstrate safe and responsible use:
- AI Safety Scenario – Interpretation of Medical Images: The document provides guidelines for before, during, and after AI usage for interpreting medical images.
- AI Safety Scenario – Ambient Scribe: The document provides guidelines for before, during, and after AI usage for interpreting medical images.
All three resources can be accessed here.
What Does This Mean for Chiropractic Practices?
While the Commission’s Guides primarily focus on acute health services, chiropractors can proactively adopt these principles to ensure AI is deployed safely across clinical and administrative workflows. Practitioners should also read and understand Ahpra requirements and their obligations related to AI before utilising in practice.
Key practice-level actions include:
- Participate in practitioner webinars or updates: This includes future sessions on AI guidance, to stay informed and contribute insights from chiropractic care.
- Evaluate AI tools purposefully: Whether for patient note-taking, risk stratification, or referral support—ensuring they address clear clinical challenges.
- Ensure ethical vetting of any tool: Collaborate with ethics committees to review AI tool design, seek transparency in how decisions are made, and verify proper consent processes.
- Monitor use and safety: Incorporate AI performance tracking in safety systems, with protocols for reporting any adverse events or inaccuracies.
- Engage patients: Inform them of AI involvement in care, clarify its functionality and limitations, and record their consent.
- Consider alignment with professional codes: Follow emerging AI-specific codes of conduct from professional bodies for safe practice alignment.
More Information
The ACA has curated a ‘Digital Depot’ of resources related to the Digital space, including resources on AI and Cybersecurity. The depot will be expanded as new resources, tools and educational tools are sourced and developed. You can access the Digital Depot via the member website here. We welcome suggestions or requests for information to add to this resource centre – email aca@chiropractors.org.au with your request or suggestion.
Ahpra has provided comprehensive guidance explaining how existing responsibilities in National Boards’ codes of conduct apply when practitioners use AI in their practice. To access that information, click here.
Moreover, Meridian Lawyers has published an Insight Article about Ahpra’s guidelines, including key takeaways and principles practitioners must be mindful of.