AI with Patient Communications: Transparency is key when using artificial intelligence (AI) to draft patient messaging, according to a new perspectives article, led by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and published May 9, 2025, in The New England Journal of Medicine AI.

UC San Diego Health became one of the first health systems in the country to pilot the use of generative AI to draft replies to patient messages inside the Epic Systems electronic health record in 2023. In the recently published article, UC San Diego Health experts highlight the successful implementation of AI for patient communications while also emphasizing the importance for broader adoption of disclosure practices to maintain patient trust.

The article urges national, professional medical organizations to draft universal guidelines for health systems that are now using this innovative AI functionality. Interviews are available with lead author Marlene Millen, MD, chief medical information officer, ambulatory care, UC San Diego Health; co-author Ming Tai-Seale, PhD, MPH, professor of family medicine and public health at UC San Diego School of Medicine; and senior author Christopher Longhurst, MD, executive director of the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation, chief medical officer and chief digital officer at UC San Diego Health. Newswise/SP