Ramesh Sachdeva, MD, PhD

Mitigating AI Legal Risks in Sleep Medicine, With Ramesh Sachdeva, MD, PhD

Editor's Note: Sachdeva's opinions are his own and do not reflect the opinions of the AASM. This should not be viewed as legal advice.

Ramesh Sachdeva, MD, PhD, chief of the division of pediatric critical care medicine at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, presented on legal issues of artificial intelligence (AI) in sleep medicine at 

. Issues stretch from who holds responsibility for AI errors and the risk of medical negligence.

 at the meeting about AI legal concerns. He addressed legal challenges clinicians face in interpreting patient-generated data, current guardrails for AI models, and practical steps sleep medicine practices can take to mitigate legal risk while responsibly adopting emerging technologies like AI.

Sachdeva said clinicians should be cognizant of what the AI data is saying and use it to augment clinical decision making.

“Interestingly, on our panel this morning, one of our panelists represented a patient…and the point he made was specifically that the expectation is that clinicians are [aware of] these device outputs,” Sachdeva said. “From a legal liability standpoint, the risks that you have to be aware of relate to issues of privacy…consent, who owns these data, and also to keep in mind this issue, the growing concern of cybersecurity, because these are large volumes of data potentially being stored in areas where the clinician may not have a direct control.”

Sachdeva highlighted the importance of transparency when it comes to using AI in sleep medicine. Guardrails for AI are still evolving, with more movement in Europe. The European Union has developed formal legislative processes like the AI act to provide regulation. Sachdeva said national bodies, groups, and clinicians all have a role to ensure the transparency of AI algorithms.

With the rise in AI, clinicians should first learn what policies are in place and comply with them. They should then learn the potential legal risks.

“The third and final point I would make is that the adoption of AI can dramatically improve our efficiencies…effectiveness and improve quality of care to patients who we take care of in the sleep medicine area and beyond,” Sachdeva said. “Therefore, it's important to not be afraid of AI, but approach it in a thoughtful manner and in a responsible manner, so that we can get the best of AI at the same time, have the requisite precautions and safeguards for our practices, institutions, and patients as we adopt AI into the future.”

Relevant disclosures for Sachdeva include Amarin Pharma Inc.

Sachdeva R, Goldstein C, Horsnell M, et al. Legal Issues and the Practice of Sleep Medicine: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, & Emerging Technologies. Presented at SLEEP 2025, the 39th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, on Tuesday, June 10 in Seattle.

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At SLEEP 2025, Sachdeva outlined evolving liability concerns, transparency issues, and steps clinicians can take to safely integrate AI in practice.

Legal Gray Areas of AI in Sleep Medicine, With Ramesh Sachdeva, MD, PhD

Editor's Note: Sachdeva's opinions are his own and does not reflect the opinions of the AASM. This should not be viewed as legal advice.

SLEEP 2025, the 39th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies 

in Seattle, Ramesh Sachdeva, MD, PhD, from Children’s Hospital of Michigan, presented on legal issues of artificial intelligence (AI) in 

spoke with Sachdeva at the meeting about the AI legal concerns, who holds responsibility for an error made by an AI-powered diagnostic system, and how sleep specialists should navigate informed consent when AI tools are used in clinical decision-making or patient monitoring.

“The big message for clinicians is that they need to be aware of what's going on in the legal landscape as AI is relatively new,” Sachdeva said. “This is evolving as we speak…the scope of legal issues is very broad, all the way from civil issues to issues of intellectual property to issues of things like vicarious liability.”

AI has weaved itself into the neurology field, entering the specialties of epilepsy, migraine, movement disorders, neuromuscular disorders, and sleep disorders.

Several auto-scoring AI tools have been developed, as well as various smart watches and rings that provide insightful data about sleep stages, sleep quality, nocturnal oxygenation, and EKG alerting about the possibility of sleep apnea. There are even AI tools that help patients understand their risks of sleep disorders or can assist in the diagnosis of narcolepsy by analyzing polysomnography patterns.

However, if clinicians are using AI tools to make to help form decisions, this may result in medical negligence, Sachdeva said.

“The takeaway point is that clinicians should be aware of where things are going,” he added. “The answers right now from a legal precedent are still developing, so there's no clear-cut regulations for the most part, but we need to be aware of this so that we can adopt AI and use it in a responsible manner to benefit our patients.”

When it comes to who holds responsibility for the AI’s error, Sachdeva said there is no easy answer, and it is case-specific. However, liability could potentially fall on both the developer, the clinician, and the institution, depending on the situation. The responsibility depends on how the AI algorithm is being used, such as independently or augmenting clinical decision-making.

Due to the risks involved, Sachdeva emphasized the importance of using AI thoughtfully, reviewing the recommendations AI makes.

“As physicians, we are reviewing the recommendations coming from these AI applications so that we can use our clinical background and experience to leverage the AI output to provide the best care for our patients,” Sachdeva said.

Meglio, M. System Integration: How AI Is Weaving Itself into Neurology. HCPLive. December 5, 2024. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/system-integration-how-ai-is-weaving-itself-into-neurology

At SLEEP 2025, Sachdeva discussed the evolving legal implications of AI use in sleep medicine, including clinician liability, informed consent, and responsible integration into care.

Ramesh Sachdeva, MD, PhD

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