On 13 August 2025 the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care published short, pragmatic guidance to help clinicians manage the fast pace of technology change. The materials are designed for practical use in day-to-day clinical work and respond to a familiar tension: new tools can offer meaningful benefits for patient care, yet evidence of safety and effectiveness may lag behind real-world implementation. The Commission positions the guidance as a resource to support clinicians meet their professional responsibilities when using Artificial Intelligence tools.
The guidance focuses on a core set of issues clinicians encounter. It covers how to review the evidence on an AI tool´s efficacy, common limitations and risks, transparency in use and informed consent, implications for patient information, the risk of automation bias, and the need for ongoing evaluation and monitoring. To illustrate application in clinical settings the Commission also published three supporting documents: an overarching clinical use guide, an ambient AI scribe safety scenario, and an AI interpretation of medical images safety scenario. These scenario papers aim to highlight practical safety considerations rather than provide exhaustive technical detail.
Resources are available from the Commission´s dedicated page at safetyandquality.gov.au/AI and questions can be sent to [email protected]. The Commission says the materials are relevant to a broad clinical audience, including doctors, nurses, medical imaging professionals and allied health practitioners working in general practice, private practice, community health or hospitals. The guidance asks clinicians to weigh potential gains in efficiency and diagnostic support against risks to informed consent, data use, and clinical judgement.
The Commission encourages clinicians and health services to use the guides as part of local governance, procurement and education activities. Simple measures, such as documenting how a tool was evaluated, explaining its role to patients, and monitoring performance in practice, are highlighted as achievable first steps. Readers are invited to share the resources and to subscribe to the Commission´s updates to stay informed about future work on digitally enabled healthcare.
