Health system to pilot AI-powered OR cameras; leaders acknowledge privacy challenges

Editor's Note

UC San Diego Health plans to pilot artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled camera systems to enhance patient safety, addressing risks like falls and bedsores, but leaders are also acknowledging challenges related to patient consent, compliance, and privacy. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the news January 5.

According to the article, the monitoring systems employ “computer vision"” to analyze real-time video data without storing footage to protect privacy. For surgical procedures, footage is anonymized and used solely for post-surgery reviews, with no identifiable patient data. The system was developed by Artisight Inc.

Cameras are already common for monitoring high-risk patients, but UC San Diego Health aims for broader implementation. Article sources claim the AI capabilities also promise streamline hospital operations by, for example, identifying vacant ORs.

Despite its promise, the technology raises ethical questions, particularly regarding privacy in sensitive healthcare settings, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. For example, transparency and patient consent are critical despite capabilities for real-time data processing and the lack of stored video. How such systems handle sensitive situations, such as detecting elder abuse or staff misconduct, also is important.

The system’s developer, Artisight, assures compliance with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), hiring a privacy expert to audit its software. According to the article, about 90 hospitals use the system, with 400 more under contract.

The full report offers more detail on the system’s other uses of AI as well as AI’s long-term potential for addressing preventable medical errors.