Tech & Innovation in Healthcare

Question: Are fake videos created with artificial intelligence (AI) becoming a real risk in healthcare communications, given how quickly false celebrity videos can spread on social media and how simple it is to create misleading AI-generated content?

New Hampshire Subscriber

Answer: Content generated by AI that delivers false or misleading information, also known as AI deepfakes, is a type of AI that “can be used to create convincing hoax images, sounds, and videos,” as explained by Fortinet. The term is a combination of “deep learning” and “fake” content.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Deepfakes can depict someone appearing to say or do something that they in fact never said or did.” Another way to look at it is when you see a scene from your favorite movie, but someone used AI to change what the actors originally said or did in the scene. You may also encounter videos of political figures saying something different from an archived news clip. This can become very dangerous when healthcare providers are spoofed.

“AI deepfakes that impersonate physicians are not just scams — they are a public health and safety crisis,” said John Whyte, MD, MPH, CEO of the AMA in a press release. “When bad actors exploit a doctor’s identity, they undermine patient trust and can steer people toward harmful, unproven care. We need strong action by federal and state lawmakers to protect physicians’ identities, ensure transparency, and stop this fraud,” Whyte added.

In April 2026, the AMA issued seven policy principles that establish enforceable safeguards that protect physicians against “unauthorized AI-generated impersonation.” These protections are designed to help ensure the safety of patients, professional integrity, and public trust in healthcare.

The principles set out by the AMA include:

1. Physicians’ identities are a protected right
2. False medical impersonation prohibition
3. Consent to AI-generated or manipulated content needs to be informed, allow opt-in, and can be revoked at any time
4. AI-generated or altered content needs to be clearly labeled
5. AI vendors, hospitals, health systems, and healthcare platforms share the responsibility of preventing AI-generated impersonation
6. Physicians, platforms, and healthcare institutions need to have processes in place to handle cases of misused identity, remove AI-generated content, log AI-generated content creation timeline, and more
7. Requirements to protect physicians should not cause an “undue administrative burden on clinicians.”

Mike Shaughnessy, BA, CPC, Production Editor, AAPC