AI chatbots and your patients, in 4 steps
Ask every patient about AI, test chatbots with made-up cases, teach patients to reset chatbot memory, and keep patient records out of consumer chatbots.
Co-founder, JotPsych
Your patient says a chatbot helps with sleep. You don't know which chatbot, what the chatbot said, or what your patient typed.
American Psychiatric Association, “Mental Health Pathfinders: What Psychiatrists Need to Know About AI with Dr. John Torous,” July 16, 2026, 21 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7QFIu4cz4I
Dr. John Torous chairs the APA's Council on Digital Health Innovation and Technology. Torous covers what to ask patients about AI, how to test a chatbot, when to reset a chatbot's memory, and what to keep out of consumer chatbots.
Dr. John Torous chairs the digital health council of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Torous covers patients and chatbots in a 21-minute APA video.
- Ask every patient whether they use AI. Make the question easy to answer: say that many people use AI, then ask what your patient uses AI for. Some patients hide chatbot use because they fear they'll offend you, Torous says at 8:45.
- Test the chatbots your patients name. Ask a chatbot what your patients ask, about therapy, safety, or a medication. Compare the answers with your own. Use made-up cases only. "Do not put patient information in," Torous says at 4:14.
- Tell patients to reset the chatbot's memory. At 12:13, Torous tells patients to reset the memory past a thousand messages, or when they feel attached to the chatbot. Long conversations carry the highest risk of serious harm, Torous says. In Stanford research Torous cites at 11:06, chat logs tied to serious harm averaged over 5,000 messages.
- Keep patient information out of consumer chatbots. Chatbots for mental health are wellness or consumer products, not clinical care, Torous says at 15:37. Chats with these chatbots aren't private. Clinicians "cannot upload any patient information" into consumer chatbots, Torous says at 16:29.
No business associate agreement with your practice
A wellness or consumer product, not clinical care
Chats are not private
Made-up cases only
The vendor signs a BAA with your practice
HIPAA binds the vendor to protect the records
Patient records allowed, under the agreement
HHS lets a practice share patient information with a vendor only under a business associate agreement. Test consumer chatbots with made-up cases, and keep patient records for AI that works under a BAA.
Our view
You keep the judgment. AI should do the paperwork. Consumer chatbots can help you learn what your patients see, as long as every case you type is made up and no record leaves your practice.
Use AI on patient records only under a business associate agreement, the contract HIPAA requires before a vendor handles your patients' health information. Then read every AI draft before you sign it, because your signature makes you responsible for the note.
JotPsych signs a BAA with your practice, drafts each note from your visit, and waits for your review and signature.
Book 15 minutes- American Psychiatric Association, "Mental Health Pathfinders: What Psychiatrists Need to Know About AI with Dr. John Torous," YouTube, July 16, 2026, 21 minutes. Host Aaron Conners; guest Dr. John Torous, chair of the APA Council on Digital Health Innovation and Technology and director of the Digital Psychiatry Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Business Associates," HIPAA guidance, last reviewed July 30, 2026, read October 2, 2026.