Source: American Medical Association

Ambient clinical audio recordings that physicians use to help create their final clinical notes serve an “administrative purpose,” and a Washington state patient does not have a legal right to access such a recording, a trial court judge ruled in Clark County Superior Court. The case, Raphael v. Mantei, involved a telehealth visit recorded by the clinic’s DAX system, which generates a draft summary subsequently edited by the physician; the patient, identified as Raphael, sought the recording and a preliminary injunction after the physician said she was withdrawing as the patient’s doctor. The Litigation Center of the American Medical Association and State Medical Societies, together with the Washington State Medical Association and the Washington State Hospital Association, filed an amicus brief urging the court to treat ambient documentation systems the same as dictation and handwritten notes and to protect them from discovery.

The court issued findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an order dated Aug. 7, concluding that the ordinary meaning of “administrative purpose” is for the internal operation or use of an institution and that the DAX recording’s use to assist physicians in preparing written records is administrative. Consequently, the recording is exempt from disclosure under Washington’s Uniform Healthcare Information Act. The amici warned that a contrary ruling would expand the state medical records law to allow patient access to preliminary, technology-generated materials that do not contain a practitioner’s professional judgment. The article also notes the AMA’s Center for Digital Health and AI and the Litigation Center’s involvement in cases where ambient AI documentation systems are at issue.