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Aipedia: Osteopaths and chiropractors
When a clinic rolls out AI tools to employees and associates, each registrant stays personally responsible, but the clinic can also be liable. The statutory rules require cover for liability for employees, partners, associates and agents, so the clinic and individual policies have to fit together.
Part of: AI in osteopaths and chiropractors
In short
Multi-practitioner clinics may adopt AI centrally: a practice system with AI notes and plans, a website chatbot, an outcome tracking platform. Employed and self-employed practitioners then use the same tools. The GOsC says responsibility for AI use cannot be outsourced to employers, so each osteopath remains accountable. Both the GOsC and GCC indemnity rules require cover for liability for employees, partners, associates, co-directors and agents, and the GCC says cover must extend to anyone providing chiropractic services in the practice. A written clinic AI policy and a clear map of who holds which cover prevent gaps.
A clinic owner may choose a practice management system with AI case notes and treatment plan suggestions, add a chatbot to the website, subscribe to an exercise app platform and use AI for marketing. Associates who rent rooms may be required or encouraged to use those systems, and reception staff may run the chatbot and send letters. One decision by the owner can therefore affect every practitioner's records, consent process and patient communications.
The GOsC interim AI guidance says responsibilities for AI use "cannot be outsourced to AI, developers of AI or employers". An employed or associate osteopath who signs an AI-drafted note or adopts a suggested plan is accountable for it under the OPS, whoever chose the tool. The GCC has no AI guidance, but chiropractors are individually bound by the GCC Code in the same way. Practitioners should be able to decline a tool they are not competent to use, or that they believe is unsafe, and the guidance expects them to know how to raise concerns with the provider.
Rule 4 of the GOsC indemnity rules and of the GCC indemnity rules lists the prescribed risks, including liability for employees, partners, associates, co-directors and agents. The minimum in both is £5m in the aggregate. The GCC adds that cover must extend to anyone providing chiropractic services in the practice. The GOsC asks each osteopath to declare cover at renewal and verifies a sample of the Register each year. In practice, a clinic needs cover for its own liability, including vicarious liability for staff, and each registrant must be able to show they personally meet the requirement, whether through the clinic policy or their own. See vicarious liability and PI.
| Who | Typical position | Question to settle |
|---|---|---|
| Clinic owner or company | Chooses and pays for clinic-wide AI tools; may employ staff | Does the clinic policy cover the business, its employees and statements made by its systems? |
| Employed practitioner | Uses tools the employer provides | Is the employee named or covered under the clinic policy, and does that meet their own statutory requirement? |
| Self-employed associate | Rents a room, often uses clinic systems | Does the associate hold their own policy, and does it cover work done with the clinic's tools? |
| Reception and admin staff | Run chatbots, booking and letters | Are errors by non-clinical staff using AI covered as part of the clinic's professional services? |
Illustrative scenario: a clinic introduces an AI scribe for all practitioners. A self-employed associate osteopath assumes the clinic policy covers anything done using clinic systems. A patient brings a claim based on an inaccurate AI-drafted note. The clinic's insurer says the associate is not covered under the clinic policy, and the associate's own policy was set up before they began using the scribe and was arranged on the basis of a different description of their practice. Both the clinic and the associate face questions about whether they met the statutory requirement.
A clinic AI policy can cover these points:
Related: AI chatbots and online booking, AI scribes and case notes, does your PI cover AI?, healthcare clinic insurance and the hub.
A claim arising from a clinic-wide tool may involve the clinic and one or more practitioners. Where policies overlap, insurers may share the claim; where neither applies, there is a gap. Common pitfalls are associates not being covered under the clinic policy, employees covered only while acting for the clinic, and policies that describe the practice in ways that no longer match how it works. A systematic tool error could also produce several claims in one period, so check that the aggregate limit is adequate for the whole clinic.
Apex arranges PI for osteopathy and chiropractic clinics and their associates and can map who is covered for what when AI tools are shared. See PI for osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists.
Not necessarily. Employees may be covered under the clinic policy, but self-employed associates may need their own. Check in writing which policy covers your work, including work done with clinic systems.
Your employer may be liable too, but the GOsC says responsibility for AI use cannot be outsourced to employers. As a registrant you remain accountable for notes, plans and letters you adopt.
Approved tools, a ban on free public tools for patient data, checking rules for notes and letters, chatbot limits, privacy and consent wording, training, an incident route and a record of who holds which insurance.
Tell us about your firm and the work you do. A broker will review how your current PI treats AI-assisted work, or arrange new cover. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a PI quote Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
