AI Is Already Affecting Your Privacy Program—Are You Paying Attention?
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(Excerpt from CEP Magazine)
We’re proud to share that our Senior Vice President of Privacy and Compliance & Chief Privacy Officer, Micki Jernigan, JD, MPH, CHC, CHPC, CCEP, has been featured in the November 2025 edition of Compliance & Ethics Professional (CEP) Magazine—a leading publication by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE).
In her article, Micki sheds light on one of the most urgent realities facing healthcare organizations today: Artificial intelligence isn’t coming into your privacy program—it’s already here. Understanding where and how AI is shaping workflows is now an essential part of effective privacy governance.
Below is an excerpt adapted from the full article.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a future consideration—it is already deeply embedded in healthcare operations. From triaging patient portal messages to assisting with coding and flagging clinical risks, AI tools are influencing decisions across the enterprise, often without formal visibility from privacy or compliance teams. For many organizations, the real question isn’t whether AI is in use, but where it is operating and how much risk it introduces.
For privacy professionals, this shift represents a critical call to action. AI—both generative and non-generative—interacts with sensitive data in ways that necessitate new layers of oversight. Tools embedded in EHR workflows, revenue cycle platforms, HR systems, or even visitor-management kiosks may already be processing patient or employee information. Each of these use cases requires a thorough understanding of how data is collected, used, stored, and shared.
As AI adoption accelerates, privacy teams must evolve from reactive gatekeepers to strategic advisors. This means educating stakeholders, reviewing vendor contracts for AI-specific clauses, building structured approval processes for new tools, and regularly auditing systems for fairness, bias, and potential exposure of protected health information. Responsible AI governance isn’t about slowing innovation—it’s about enabling it safely, ethically, and transparently.
This excerpt is adapted from an article originally published in the November 2025 issue of Compliance & Ethics Professional (CEP) Magazine, a publication of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE). Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2025 SCCE & HCCA.
Author: Micki Jernigan, JD, MPH, CHC, CHPC, CCEP — Senior Vice President of Privacy and Compliance & Chief Privacy Officer at Genzeon.