TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Attorney General James Uthmeier requested that the Florida Board of Medicine investigate artificial intelligence platforms for potentially engaging in the unlicensed practice of medicine. State officials cite concerns over inaccurate health recommendations that could cause patient harm.
“This is not a licensed doctor,” Uthmeier said during a press briefing. “But because of the design of the algorithms, of the applications, it presents itself as a human being with credibility.”
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass warned that automated health guidance often lacks critical safety warnings regarding prescription interactions.
“What they don’t tell you is if you take this concoction that we just told you to do this and you’re on some type of medication from your doctor, they may counteract itself and it cause great harm to you,” Glass said.
Despite regulatory scrutiny, consumer adoption continues to expand. Data from the Pew Research Center indicates approximately one-third of Americans turn to conversational AI platforms for medical information or self-diagnosis.
Local healthcare providers note that patients routinely bring chatbot results into clinical appointments. Dr. Matthew Zaideman, a primary care physician in Tallahassee, observes both utility and risk in the trend.
“AI is not always going to have the clear picture,” Zaideman said. “Not going to have all your labs, not going to have all of your diagnostic imaging, all the things that go into making a good diagnosis and giving you the proper treatment plan.”
Zaideman advises patients to view automated outputs as conversational starting points rather than definitive diagnoses.
“I think the big thing is don’t take it for gospel,” Zaideman said. “You still need to listen to your physician. You need to run that by them.”
Enforcement against technology developers presents jurisdictional questions under Florida Statute 456.065, which classifies the unlicensed practice of medicine as a felony.
FOX49 reached out to the Attorney General’s Office and the State Board of Medicine to clarify whether specific cases of physical harm have been documented in Florida and what enforcement mechanisms will apply to out-of-state entities. Neither agency responded prior to publication.
FOX49 also contacted major AI developers, including OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. Microsoft declined to comment, while OpenAI and Google did not respond.
As regulatory frameworks develop, clinicians emphasize the need for clear guidelines in a rapidly changing sector.
“AI is kind of the Wild West in general,” Zaideman said. “It probably makes sense to look into that and have some more protection for both physicians and the patients.”
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