The Medical and Legal Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care - An Area of Unsettled Law

James “Jim” Corrigan returned home following a stressful day at work with a headache that only increased in intensity as time elapsed. He laid down, but the room started to spin and his vision blurred. Sensing that something was wrong, he went to the emergency room and was greeted by a waiting area filled with others seeking medical attention. Jim was summoned by a nurse who asked various questions that she read from a screen.

His answers produced a computer response indicating that he may be having a stroke and needed a computerized tomography (CT) scan. The patient was immediately transported to radiology, and the CT scan was performed. Twenty seconds later, a computer indicated that Jim had an ischemic stroke and notified the attending physician that the patient needed a tissue plasminogen activator to dissolve the blood clot and restore blood flow to the brain. The appropriate action was initiated, and the patient made a prompt and successful recovery.