The AMA’s letters, addressed Wednesday to the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, the Congressional Digital Health Caucus, and the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus, call for immediate congressional action to establish safety regulations for AI mental-health chatbots. The organization highlighted concerns over misinformation, emotional dependency, and privacy breaches as critical issues arising from the growing use of these chatbots.

AMA CEO Dr. John Whyte said these tools “may help expand access to mental health resources and support innovation in health care delivery,” but emphasized that they “lack consistent safeguards against serious risks.”

The AMA urged Congress to require AI mental-health chatbots to clearly disclose that users are interacting with artificial intelligence rather than licensed clinicians. The letters specify that these systems should be prohibited from presenting themselves as licensed professionals or implying they can provide care equivalent to that of human clinicians. Transparency requirements should also detail the extent of any human oversight, if applicable, so users understand they are not receiving care from a healthcare professional, the AMA stated.

Further, the AMA called for a prohibition on chatbots diagnosing mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression or offering treatment recommendations, including medication advice. The organization recommended that any AI tools engaging in diagnosis or treatment undergo review by the Food and Drug Administration as medical devices. Dr. Whyte and the AMA noted the need for the FDA to clarify which AI applications qualify as general wellness technologies versus those requiring regulatory oversight. Clear statutory boundaries should define permissible chatbot functions to prevent clinical misrepresentation.

The letters also stress that all AI mental-health chatbots must reliably detect suicidal ideation and self-harm risks, with immediate referral capabilities to suicide prevention hotlines and recommendations for further medical care. The AMA called for mandatory crisis-detection systems incorporating de-escalation language to reduce potential harms. Congressional hearings have revealed troubling reports of chatbots encouraging self-harm and suicide, particularly among vulnerable populations, the AMA noted. Enhanced safeguards are especially critical for minors, with mandatory de-escalation protocols required.

Privacy and data security concerns were also addressed. The AMA urged Congress to require developers to implement cybersecurity measures preventing unauthorized access or sharing of sensitive health data. The letters call for strict data protection rules limiting collection and retention of mental health information and establishing clear user consent protocols. The AMA emphasized that privacy protections should be comparable to those mandated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act for traditional healthcare.

The organization further recommended that advertising be discouraged within mental health chatbots, with a complete prohibition on ads targeted toward children. The letters warn against monetization models that could influence care guidance and insist that sponsorship bias and commercial interests must not shape chatbot outputs or recommendations. The AMA called on Congress to restrict advertising specifically to minors on AI mental health platforms and to enact statutory prohibitions against commercial influence on clinical guidance.

Ongoing safety monitoring and accountability were also highlighted. The AMA called for mandatory reporting of adverse events and rigorous safety standards, especially for tools used by children and adolescents who face heightened risks. Congressional testimony has underscored the need for consistent safety protocols to address emotional dependency and reality distortion risks associated with AI chatbots. The AMA urged developers to establish systems for tracking and reporting incidents of harm linked to chatbot use.

The AMA referenced precedents set by state legislation, noting that Illinois has banned AI use for therapeutic decision-making, while California requires chatbot developers to monitor conversations for suicidal ideation and implement other safeguards. These state actions have emerged in response to gaps in the federal regulatory framework, which currently lacks consistent safeguards for AI mental-health tools. The AMA advocates for federal standards to provide uniform protections across all states and jurisdictions.

The letters mark a significant push by the AMA to prompt congressional oversight and regulatory clarity as AI mental-health chatbots become more widespread. The organization’s recommendations aim to ensure these technologies provide safe, transparent, and clinically appropriate support without replacing licensed mental health professionals or exposing users to harm.

The risk of being sued increases significantly with age and specialty, with 45.2% of physicians aged 55 and older having been sued, compared to 11% of those under 45, according to the AMA report. Surgical specialists face the highest risk: 59.6% of obstetricians and gynecologists (OB/GYNs) and 53.1% of general surgeons reported being sued at least once. Among OB/GYNs and general surgeons aged 55 and older, nearly three-quarters had faced malpractice claims, the data show.

The American Medical Association’s (AMA) 2024 Physician Practice Benchmark Surveys found that 28.7% of U.S. physicians reported facing a malpractice lawsuit at some point in their careers, down from 34% in 2016.

AMA President Dr. Bobby Mukkamala said the persistent threat of lawsuits challenges physicians, increases practice expenses, and drives up healthcare costs by reinforcing defensive medicine. The AMA’s second report, which analyzed data from Medical Liability Monitor and was published in April 2026, indicated that medical liability insurance premiums have risen steadily since 2019 for high-risk specialties such as general surgery, OB/GYN, and internal medicine. Nearly 40% of insurers surveyed reported premium increases for 2025, continuing a multi-year trend not seen in two decades, the AMA said.

The rising premiums place a financial burden on physicians and contribute to escalating healthcare expenses nationwide, officials said. Despite the high risk, many claims are dropped or dismissed, with most cases finding no fault with the physicians involved, emphasizing the persistent risk even when errors are not present. The AMA’s Division of Economic and Health Policy Research highlighted that claim frequency varies by specialty, gender, age, Census Division, and employment status, based on nationally representative data collected from 2016 to 2024. Male physicians are at higher risk than their female counterparts, with surgical fields like OB/GYN and general surgery most affected.

The AMA’s analysis includes both paid and unpaid claims, providing a more comprehensive picture than insurer data alone, which may not capture all claims. According to the research, the long-term risk of being sued is substantial, with earlier AMA preview findings showing that about 31% of physicians have faced lawsuits over their careers. The lowest litigation risks were reported in specialties such as endocrinology (8.9%) and psychiatry (9.2%), while radiology also faces a relatively higher risk, as noted in AMA research highlighted by Radiology Business.

Physicians aged 45 to 54 reported a 22.2% risk of facing at least one claim, bridging the gap between younger and older cohorts. The overall decline in claim frequency—from 34% in 2016 to 28.7% in 2024—suggests a downward trend, though the cumulative career risk remains significant. Regional variations in claim frequency were observed across Census Divisions, though the AMA report did not provide detailed breakdowns. Employment status also influences the likelihood of claims, according to the full report released by the AMA.

Dr. Mukkamala noted that the fear of litigation drives defensive medical practices, which in turn increase patient costs. The AMA’s findings on premium hikes for 2025, particularly in surgery and OB/GYN, are based on insurer surveys and reflect ongoing financial pressures in these specialties. The AMA has called for reforms to address the persistent lawsuit risk and rising premiums that continue to burden physicians and contribute to higher healthcare expenses.

Historically, the AMA’s research points to changes in short-term risk over the past decades, with 1996 data showing different patterns. However, the cumulative exposure over a physician’s career remains a critical factor in malpractice risk. The reports published in April 2026 in outlets such as Claims Journal, Insurance Journal, and Healthcare Dive provide detailed insight into medical liability claim frequency and insurance premium trends, underscoring the need to address liability issues to help control healthcare costs nationwide.

The policy framework, developed by the AMA Center for Digital Health and AI, seeks to modernize protections for physician identity amid rising concerns over AI-generated deepfake impersonations, AMA officials said. The document, dated March 26, 2026, and copyrighted by the American Medical Association, outlines comprehensive measures to close legal gaps and safeguard patient safety, professional integrity, and public trust, according to the AMA’s press release from Chicago.

The framework prohibits AI-generated or altered content that impersonates physicians without clear, informed consent if such content falsely conveys endorsement, authorship, or medical judgment in a manner likely to mislead patients, AMA representatives said.

This prohibition targets deceptive uses of physician identity that could influence health-related decisions, with a focus on protecting reasonable patients from being misled, the policy states.

A key component requires separate, explicit opt-in consent for any use of a physician’s identity in AI-created or manipulated material. Consent must specify the intended use, audience, purpose, and duration, and be revocable if circumstances change, AMA officials explained. The consent process is designed to be standardized, reusable, and institutionally supported to minimize administrative burden on physicians, ensuring that consent is affirmative and specific rather than implied or bundled with other agreements.

The policy also mandates transparency through clear labeling of all AI-generated or altered depictions of physicians. According to the AMA, such content must include plain-language disclosures and digital watermarks, and patients must be proactively notified before interacting with synthetic professionals. These measures aim to prevent deception and support patient safety by ensuring full disclosure of synthetic content, the AMA said.

Responsibility for preventing impersonation is shared among platforms, hospitals, and AI vendors, the AMA framework states. These entities are required to implement safeguards such as rapid takedown mechanisms, prohibitions on the use of health professional titles in AI-generated content, preservation of audit logs, and cooperation with investigations. The policy centers on seven key areas to establish comprehensive protections for physician identity, including names, images, voices, and digital replicas, according to AMA documents.

Physicians are granted access to robust enforcement remedies, including procedures to document misuse, trigger content takedowns, and seek appropriate remedies. The framework empowers designated federal agencies to enforce relevant laws, require corrective disclosures, and issue annual public reports on incidents involving health-related impersonations, takedown performance, and enforcement actions. These agencies are authorized to investigate violations, preserve records, compel cooperation, seek injunctive relief, impose civil penalties, and mandate disclosures, the AMA said.

The AMA emphasized that the policy is designed to minimize administrative burdens on physicians by establishing identity protection as the default and supporting standardized, reusable consent processes. The framework aims to modernize protections without adding to physicians’ workloads while addressing gaps in existing privacy, employment, and intellectual property laws, according to AMA officials.

This policy announcement comes amid escalating risks posed by AI-manipulated images, videos, and audio impersonations of physicians, which have raised concerns about patient safety and professional integrity. The AMA’s framework represents a coordinated effort to address these challenges through legal, technological, and procedural safeguards, the association said.