A patient of San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare is suing the health system over its use of an AI scribe during his treatment.
The plaintiff claims a Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group clinic recorded a July appointment with Abridge’s ambient clinical documentation app without his consent, according to the complaint obtained by Becker’s.
He learned of the recording after reading his medical notes from the visit, per the proposed class-action lawsuit filed in late November in the Superior Court of California for San Diego County. The lawsuit claims the health system lacked a consent process that complied with California law.
In California, using ambient AI that records clinical conversations generally requires all-party consent, meaning both the patient and clinician must agree before any audio recording begins.
The plaintiff, Jose Saucedo, is seeking damages and asking that his medical records be amended and that Sharp HealthCare use the AI technology in the future with proper consent. The case is one of the first known instances of a hospital or health system facing legal action tied to ambient intelligence.
A Sharp HealthCare spokesperson declined to comment to Becker’s on pending litigation.
