Across Canada, doctors and nurses are quietly using public artificial-intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini to write clinical notes, translate discharge summaries or summarize patient data. But even though these services offer speed and convenience, they also pose unseen cyber-risks when sensitive health information is no longer controlled by the hospital.

Emerging evidence suggests this behaviour is becoming more common. A recent ICT & Health Global article cited a BMJ Health & Care Informatics study showing that roughly one in five general practitioners in the United Kingdom reported using generative-AI tools such as ChatGPT to help draft clinical correspondence or notes.

While Canadian-specific data remain limited, anecdotal reports suggest that similar informal uses may be starting to appear in hospitals and clinics across the country.

This phenomenon, known as shadow AI, refers to the use of AI systems without formal institutional approval or oversight. In health-care settings, it refers to well-intentioned clinicians entering patient details into public chatbots that process information on foreign servers. Once that data leaves a secure network, there is no guarantee where it goes, how long it is stored, or whether it may be reused to train commercial........

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