AI Is Making Decisions Behind Your Back:

And You’re Still On the Hook

By Nikki Mehrpoo, JD, AIWC, AIMWC

Founder, The MedLegal Professor™ | Former Workers’ Compensation Judge | AI Governance Architect & Technology Strategist | Creator of The EEE AI Protocol™ | Dual-Certified Legal Specialist | Legal Risk & Compliance Strategist | AI+HI™ Champion for Regulated Professionals

❗Let Me Be Direct

If a system you use makes a suggestion, completes a sentence, generates a summary, ranks a patient, or drafts a legal note…
That is AI acting on your behalf.

And if you did not review it, correct it, or stop it — you are still responsible.

In regulated industries, your license is the final authority.
The AI does not hold one.
But it will get you sued, audited, or disciplined — without blinking.

🔍 Here's What Most Professionals Get Wrong

They think:

• “I’m not really using AI.”

• “It’s just a tool to save time.”

• “I double-checked it once, that’s enough.”

• “It’s built into the software, so it must be compliant.”

That is like letting someone else prescribe medication or draft a legal motion using your name…
Because they sounded confident.

Sound familiar?

📍Courtroom Echo: If it entered the record and you did not govern it, it is yours to defend.

⚠️ Why This Is Dangerous — Even If You Mean Well

The moment you allow AI to operate silently in your workflow without human review, you are:

• Letting AI replace your judgment

• Letting AI document your intent

• Letting AI create legal exposure in your name

It is not about whether the AI “worked.”
It is about whether you can prove you governed it — before it caused harm.

🛑 The One Rule That Protects You Every Time

If a human is not reviewing it, AI is not allowed to finish the task.
End of story.

AI can suggest.
AI can draft.
AI can support.

But AI cannot finalize, authorize, submit, or speak for you — ever.

If it does, you have just crossed from “assisted” into “automated malpractice.”

🔒 The Non-Negotiables of AI Use for Licensed Professionals

Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, claims manager, or admin lead, these five rules apply to you:

1. Every AI Tool Must Have a Human Reviewer

Ask:
Who is legally and professionally responsible for checking this tool’s output before it is used?

• If no name is listed, assign one.

• If that person is untrained, stop the AI until they are.

• If they are overwhelmed, escalate — do not delegate.

2. No AI Decision May Be Final Without Human Oversight

This includes:

• Clinical risk scores

• Legal summary statements

• Claims prioritizations

• Discharge instructions

• Consent or billing pre-auths

If the AI is setting direction — not just offering a draft — it must be paused, reviewed, and approved by a licensed human every time.

3. Every AI-Involved Action Must Be Loggable

You must be able to show:

• What the AI touched

• What output it created

• Who reviewed it

• When and how it was corrected

🗂️ If it is not in your Governance Log, it did not happen — at least not in your favor.

4. Staff Must Know When to Say “Stop”

Risk detection must be trained.

Teach your staff to flag when they hear:

• “This doesn’t sound like something I wrote.”

• “The AI skipped something important.”

• “The output was too fast to be trustworthy.”

Rule: If it feels wrong, pause it.
You can always escalate.
You cannot unring a malpractice bell.

5. No One Gets to Use AI “Silently”

This is where most licensed professionals get burned.

AI use must be:

• Known

• Governed

• Logged

• Tied to a licensed person’s role

If AI is being used and no one knows — that is unauthorized automation.
And you are already in breach territory.

✅ In-Depth Oversight Action Plan You Can Start Today

Let us go operational.

🔹 Step 1: Identify One Task AI Is Involved In

Pick one:

• Auto-filled intake form

• AI-suggested diagnosis

• Claims scoring algorithm

• Document summarizer

🔹 Step 2: Define What the AI Is Actually Doing

Ask:

• What is the AI generating?

• Does it influence decisions or documents?

• Can it be submitted or used without human editing?

🔹 Step 3: Assign Human Oversight

Write down:

• Who is the licensed reviewer?

• When do they review?

• What do they do if it looks wrong?

Post this visibly. Enforce it.

🔹 Step 4: Write a Single-Sentence Policy

“All AI-generated outputs must be reviewed, corrected, and approved by a licensed human before they are used, sent, or filed.”

Print it. Distribute it. Enforce it.

🔹 Step 5: Log It

Use a basic Governance Log format:

• Date

• Tool Used

• Task Type

• Reviewed By

• Approved?

• Notes

Do not rely on memory.
Regulators do not audit intentions — they audit records.

🧠 Nikki’s Bottom Line

AI does not remove your risk.
It moves it — quietly, and sometimes invisibly — until the damage is done.

That is why I do not teach people to fear AI.
I teach them how to govern it.

And that starts by making one decision very clear:

The AI works for you. Not the other way around.

📣 Call to Action

Reserve Your Spot in the Masterclass
To dive deeper into AI governance and ensure your practice is fully protected, I am offering an exclusive masterclass designed for licensed professionals in regulated industries.

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