CCHF to warn FreedomFest attendees about AI in the exam room

Citizens' Council for Health Freedom President Twila Brase will use FreedomFest 2026 in Las Vegas to argue that ambient-listening AI is entering exam rooms without clear consent and putting patient privacy, note accuracy and physician independence at risk. Brase is scheduled to speak July 9 and later join a broader health care panel at Caesars Forum.

Why it matters: - CCHF says ambient-listening AI can expose private patient conversations to recording and transcription without explicit consent. - The group says the technology can affect medical record accuracy, patient privacy rights and doctor independence. - Brase plans to frame the issue as part of a larger fight over who controls health care: patients and doctors or third parties such as insurers, government programs and electronic record systems.

What happened: - Citizens' Council for Health Freedom President and Co-Founder Twila Brase, RN, PHN, will speak at FreedomFest 2026 on Thursday, July 9, at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. - Brase's session, “AI in the Exam Room,” is set for 2:00 p.m. PDT on the Free Speech Stage, Room 108-109. - Brase will also appear later that day on the Main Stage panel “Healthcare in America” at 4:25 p.m. PDT in Room 130-135. - The panel includes John Goodman of the Goodman Institute for Public Policy, Andrew Langer of the Institute for Liberty and Andy Schoonover, CEO of CrowdHealth.

The details: - Brase will argue that “ambient listening” refers to AI scribe software that records an exam-room conversation and drafts the doctor's note. - The presentation will cover types of AI devices, types of consent notices and cases where consent is not requested. - Brase will say these tools can capture side comments, emotional moments and remarks a patient never intended for a permanent medical record. - Brase will also highlight the risk of AI “hallucinations” and other errors appearing in generated notes. - Clinician review hours or days later can still leave AI-generated content in the permanent medical record, Brase plans to say. - Brase will tell patients to ask before a visit begins: “Is anything in this room recording or transcribing our conversation?” - Later at the panel, Brase will focus on the mission of medicine and on freedom for patients and doctors before the demands of government programs, corporate health plans and electronic record systems. - Brase will discuss CCHF's 3-C Solution: cash for routine care, catastrophic coverage for major medical needs and charity for those who need help. - Brase said the current system forces patients and doctors to follow insurance rules, government requirements and electronic record demands instead of focusing on care. - Brase also said AI is not the answer to physician burnout, government is not the answer to unaffordable coverage and managed care is not the answer to pending Medicare insolvency.

Between the lines: - CCHF is using FreedomFest to link AI privacy concerns with a broader critique of third-party payment in health care. - The group's message suggests the debate is not just about transcription tools, but about whether technology and bureaucracy are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship. - CCHF is positioning patient consent and record control as central to health freedom.

What's next: - Brase will speak, sign books and join the panel on July 9 at Caesars Forum. - Her book signing is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. PDT in the Exhibit Hall, Room 136-139, where she will sign Big Brother in the Exam Room: The Dangerous Truth About Electronic Health Records. - CCHF says more information and interview requests can go through Alexandra de Scheel at media@cchfreedom.org. - More information is available on CCHF's website.

The bottom line: - CCHF is using FreedomFest to warn that AI scribes may improve efficiency but can also turn the exam room into a recording space patients never clearly agreed to enter.