Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Addiction Medicine

This episode is part of a special three-part series spotlighting key sessions from ASAM’s 57th Annual Conference.

In this episode of ASAM Practice Pearls, Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar is joined by Drs. Sara Polley and Daniel Kaufman to explore highlights from their Annual Conference session, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Addiction Medicine. Together, they discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping addiction medicine, including the many ways AI is already being used in clinical care. The conversation focuses on informed consent, maintaining clinical judgment, and ethical considerations.

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Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, MD, MPH, FAAFP, FACPM, DFASAM

Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar is a family medicine, public health and general preventive medicine, and addiction medicine physician. Her work focuses on expanding access to evidence-based addiction treatment and harm reduction services, and she has over 14 years of experience practicing in medically underserved settings. Dr. Salisbury-Afshar is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she works clinically on an inpatient addiction consult team and is the Medical Director of a low-barrier walk-in clinic for people who use substances. Dr. Salisbury-Afshar is the Vice Chair of ASAM’s Medical Education Council and the Vice Chair of the Conference Program Planning Committee.

Sara Polley, MD, FAPA, FASAM

Dr. Polley is a triple board-certified psychiatrist in adult, child, and adolescent psychiatry and addiction medicine. She provides integrated psychiatric care for youth and families at Vantage Mental Health, a nonprofit clinic serving both Minnesota and Wisconsin. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Polley is a national consultant, speaker, and educator with the University of Minnesota Medical School. She serves on Minnesota’s Cannabis Advisory Council and holds committee appointments with the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). Dr. Polley is a passionate advocate for outpatient trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate, and family-centered co-occurring care, drawing on both her clinical experience and personal story as the child of a parent lost to addiction. 

Daniel Kaufmann, PhD, LPC, LMHC

Dr. Kaufmann is an Associate Professor at Grand Canyon University as well as the Director of Gaming Services at Kindbridge Behavioral Health. He is the author of The Gamer’s Journey (2024), a book focused on explaining the presence of video games in society as a form of mythological storytelling and how these characters and settings can be used therapeutically for every gamer to complete each phase of the hero’s journey in their own lives. Dr. Kaufmann is currently serving as the co-chair of the APA research task force on video game issues and is working on several nationwide training programs to help mental health professionals understand video games in innovative ways. Dr. Kaufmann's publications cover the areas of video games, personality theory, online education, and counselor development. He offers supervision to an international list of clinicians to help bridge the gap in learning about technological impact on society and specific insights related to effective treatment for clients experiencing games-related issues. 

• 00:05 - Introduction 
• 01:19 - Expert Introduction and Initial Start with AI 
• 04:40 - The Landscape of AI in Addiction Care
• 06:41 - AI Assists Clinicians Might Not Realize They Are Using
• 08:13 - AI for Search Tools and Scribes
• 09:29 - Informed Consent for AI Tools
• 14:02 - Patient's Reception of AI in Care Conversations
• 15:41 - AI for Progress Notes and Documentation
• 19:49 - AI for Patient Advocacy Letters
• 22:04  - Guidance for Adopting AI Tools
• 25:35 - Advice for Early-Career Health Care Providers
• 26:21 - Approaching AI with Curiosity
• 29:00 - Words of Advice
• 32:50 - Conclusion and Additional Learning Opportunity 

• AI is already embedded throughout addiction care: Clinicians are integrating AI into their daily practice, including ambient scribes, literature search tools, helping write progress notes, billing systems, and EMR-driven risk alerts.
• Informed consent for AI use requires careful consideration: Clinicians should consider the risk to the patient and the potential impact if the tool were to fail to help determine the appropriate level of AI-informed consent. Consider the risks of the tool failing, the likelihood of catching errors, and whether the patient has the ability to opt out before deciding whether to notify, obtain consent, or determine if consent is even needed.
• AI scribes can free up significant time: Using ambient scribes can allow clinicians to focus more on the patient and the therapeutic relationship and less on documentation; however, clinicians must still review all AI-generated content carefully, never treating it as a finished, accurate product.
• AI should support, not replace, clinical judgment: AI can be used as a resource to aid clinical administrative work, but it is not a substitute for diagnosis, treatment planning, or medical decision-making. The clinician remains responsible for all care decisions.
• Early-career clinicians face a unique risk: Relying on AI before developing foundational clinical skills could lead to long-term competency gaps. Instead, use AI-generated content as a learning tool to develop necessary skills rather than as a shortcut.
• Data privacy and HIPAA compliance are non-negotiable: Before adopting any AI tool, clinicians must verify where patient data is sent, who has access, and whether it is protected from being fed into wider internet systems.
• Approach AI with curiosity and keep an open mind: AI isn’t going away. Learn how to work with it to help enhance your clinical practice. Educate yourself and use your own judgment on what may or may not be relevant for your own practice.

• Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Addiction Medicine Annual Conference Session: Register HERE
• 2 in 3 physicians are using health AI-up 78% from 2023 - Henry TA. American Medical Association. February 26, 2025. Accessed April 25, 2026
• 77% of Americans Embrace AI in Behavioral Health, but Only with Transparency and Strong Safeguards - GlobeNewswire Qualifacts. February 18, 2026. Accessed April 25, 2026
• A Scoping Review of AI-Driven Digital Interventions in Mental Health Care: Mapping Applications Across Screening, Support, Monitoring, Prevention, and Clinical Education - Ni Y, Jia F. Healthcare (Basel). 2025;13(10):1205. Published 2025 May 21. doi:10.3390/healthcare13101205
• Clinician Experiences With Ambient Scribe Technology to Assist With Documentation Burden and Efficiency - Duggan MJ, Gervase J, Schoenbaum A, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(2):e2460637. Published 2025 Feb 3. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.60637
• Commercial Products Using Generative Artificial Intelligence Include Ambient Scribes, Automated Documentation and Scheduling, Revenue Cycle Management, Patient Engagement and Education, and Prior Authorization Platforms - Kunze KN, Bepple J, Bedi A, Ramkumar PN, Pean CA. Arthroscopy. 2025;41(11):4950-4955. doi:10.1016/j.arthro.2025.05.021
• Ethical Considerations for Clinical Adoption of Ambient Digital Scribe Technology - Anderson TN, Mohan V, Gold JA. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2026;33(3):770-775. doi:10.1093/jamia/ocaf227
• Ethical Obligations to Inform Patients About Use of AI Tools - Mello MM, Char D, Xu SH. JAMA. 2025;334(9):767-770. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.11417
• New Doc on the Block: Scoping Review of AI Systems Delivering Motivational Interviewing for Health Behavior Change - Karve Z, Calpey J, Machado C, Knecht M, Mejia MC. J Med Internet Res. 2025;27:e78417. Published 2025 Sep 16. doi:10.2196/78417
• Patient Attitudes Toward Ambient Artificial Intelligence Scribes in Clinical Care: Insights From a Cross-Sectional Study - Chandrasekaran R, Moustakas E. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2026;33(2):263-272. doi:10.1093/jamia/ocaf218
• Role of the States in the Future of AI Regulation - Mello MM, Childs PB, Roberts JL. JAMA Health Forum. 2025;6(9):e255020. Published 2025 Sep 5. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.5020
• Teen and Young Adult Perspectives on Generative AI: Patterns of Use, Excitements, and Concerns - Hopelab, Common Sense Media, Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Published 2024. Accessed February 2026

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In support of improving patient care, the American Society of Addiction Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.