Medical artificial intelligence has gone from a new technology in the healthcare industry to a widely used tool for clinicians of all kinds. The ultimate goal is to streamline workflows and reduce administrative burden, but these tools also help with comparing drugs and dosages, transcribing and summarizing appointments, and supporting clinical decision-making.
These platforms vary in their feature set, ease of use, and price point. The rise of free AI tools raises security concerns for many clinicians, but does free always mean non-compliant?
Here, we’ll uncover how to find a trusted free, HIPAA-compliant medical AI, so you can test with confidence in the most accessible way possible.
What Is Medical AI?
Medical AI, also called “healthcare AI” or “clinical AI,” is artificial intelligence designed to support healthcare professionals in administrative duties, research, and clinical tasks. These tools use large language models and machine learning to synthesize data, generate insights, and automate burdensome, routine work.
Common examples of AI for doctors include:
- GPT-like search and prompt engines
- Transcription and summary tools
- Diagnostic support tools
- Literature summarization tools
- Document drafting tools
The market for healthcare AI has grown quickly, as physicians spend significant time on administrative tasks rather than patient care. With the help of AI, this burden is significantly reduced, but it’s important to note that not all AI systems are designed with healthcare regulations in mind. That’s why HIPAA compliance is critical. Here’s what that looks like.
Understanding HIPAA Compliant AI
In the United States, HIPAA compliance is the standard that governs how patient health information must be protected. Any AI tool that processes protected health information must meet these strict privacy and security requirements.
HIPAA compliance safeguards include secure data encryption and storage, controlled access to patient information, audit trails to track how data is used, and business associate agreements (BAAs) between the technology provider and the healthcare organization. Many public-facing general AI tools are not built with HIPAA compliance or the healthcare industry in mind. In these cases, the lack of safeguards could pose a privacy risk to patients and the practice.
Free Versus Paid Medical AI: Is One Safer Than the Other?
Some clinicians might assume that a paid tool is automatically more secure than a free one. The reality is that some free tools invest heavily in compliance and data protection, while some paid tools fail to meet the security standards required in today’s practices. The real question doctors should ask themselves is whether the AI platform is built specifically for healthcare professionals.
What to Look For in Safe AI Tooling
We’ve emphasized that HIPAA compliance should be the first priority. But healthcare professionals should also consider the following when testing medical AI tooling:
- Whether the tool is designed for the healthcare industry
- If patient data is stored or used to train the large language model
- The policies around data privacy, access, and storage
- Where and how answers and outputs are sourced
- If patient appointment recordings are stored or disposed of
For physicians or other clinicians evaluating AI tools, the more transparent, the better. Trialling users should be able to easily identify which compliance standards a tool meets, how outputs are reviewed or sourced, and why they should trust the tool as a handy workflow guide.
Healthcare AI Benefits for Resident Physicians
Like fully licensed physicians, resident physicians face heavy documentation and administrative workloads. Between charting, rounds, and clinical education, many residents work long hours, balancing patient care, paperwork, and their studies.
Medical AI can provide many meaningful benefits for resident physicians, most notably with documentation. Healthcare AI that summarizes clinical notes and structured patient histories can save valuable time during busy shifts. Additionally, AI can support clinical learning and testing by explaining complex medical topics and highlighting new findings, better preparing residents for on-the-spot testing.
Lastly, AI can help with patient communication. A trusted AI tool can draft referral letters, appointment summaries, and more, requiring only a review or edit from the resident, rather than having them draft from scratch.
It’s essential that resident physicians use the same responsible AI practices as physicians. That means not using AI as a definitive source of truth, but rather, a workflow guide or assistant. Doctors and residents alike are responsible for using their clinical judgement to make the final call on patient care.
How Doximity Blends Accessible and Secure AI
Healthcare professionals increasingly expect AI tooling that’s both secure and accessible. Platforms like Doximity meet that need. It’s easy to use, free, HIPAA-compliant, and secure, helping doctors, nurse practitioners, and PAs integrate AI that prioritizes evidence-based research and data privacy.
Doximity serves as a clinical decision management tool and an AI workflow assistant on both desktop and mobile devices. With tools like DoxGPT and Doximity Scribe, users can draft documents, surface evidence-based answers to prompts, access drug monograph data, and transcribe and summarize patient appointments.
With a closed, secure system only trained on reputable sources, clinicians can trust Doximity as a guide to help them lighten their administrative burden and get back to patient care. Doximity also keeps practicing physicians in the loop with PeerCheck™, providing thousands of resources verified by qualified doctors like them.
Doximity’s telehealth platform, Doximity Dialer, also helps physicians take patient care on the go. Clinicians can text, call, and video call their patients on their personal devices, all while keeping their phone numbers private. With Doximity, patient care is accessible, streamlined, and always secure.
Try Doximity’s Free, HIPAA-Compliant AI
85% of U.S. physicians are already registered Doximity users. Signing up only requires your valid healthcare credentials, and you can try out one feature or test out all three.
The safest approach to choosing healthcare AI is to opt for solutions that meet security standards, are transparent, and are built for healthcare professionals in clinical settings. Sign up for Doximity today, and use AI to put the focus back on patient care.