Several Californians sued Sutter Health and MemorialCare this week over allegations that an AI transcription tool was used to record them without their consent, in violation of state and federal law.
The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, states that, within the past six months, the plaintiffs received medical care at various Sutter and MemorialCare facilities.
During those visits, medical staff used Abridge AI. According to the complaint, this system “captured and processed their confidential physician-patient communications. Plaintiffs did not receive clear notice that their medical conversations would be recorded by an artificial intelligence platform, transmitted outside the clinical setting, or processed through third-party systems.”
The complaint adds that these recordings “contained individually identifiable medical information, including but not limited to medical histories, symptoms, diagnoses, medications, treatment discussions, and other sensitive health disclosures communicated during confidential medical consultations.”
In recent years, Abridge’s software and AI service have been rapidly deployed across major health care providers nationwide, including Kaiser Permanente, the Mayo Clinic, Duke Health, and many more.
When activated, the software captures, transcribes, and summarizes conversations between patients and doctors, and it turns them into clinical notes. (This reporter gave his consent for its use during multiple medical visits at Kaiser facilities in Northern California over the last two years.)
Sutter Health began partnering with Abridge two years ago. Sutter spokesperson Liz Madison said the company is aware of the lawsuit. “We take patient privacy seriously and are committed to protecting the security of our patients’ information,” Madison said. “Technology used in our clinical settings is carefully evaluated and implemented in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.”
Wendy Dow, a spokesperson for MemorialCare, said, “We don’t comment on pending litigation.”
Abridge AI, a company that was valued at $5.3 billion as of June 2025, says its product measurably improves “outcomes for clinicians, nurses, and revenue cycle teams at scale.” It did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This case was first reported on Thursday by the Daily Journal.
