Kaiser mental health professionals strike in Northern California over AI concerns

OAKLAND, Calif. — About 2,400 Kaiser Permanente mental health professionals were on strike Wednesday in Northern California over fears the health care giant would replace therapists with artificial intelligence.

Kaiser says the union’s claim is false and that AI will not replace human assessment or make care decisions for patients. The facilities are open, the company said. The two parties have been negotiating a new contract since last summer.

Mental health professionals were joined in their one-day strike by more than 23,000 Kaiser nurses. Therapists, who include social workers and psychologists, provide mental health and substance abuse treatment to approximately 4.6 million patients in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley and Sacramento areas.

Oakland-based Kaiser is not currently using AI for therapeutic purposes, but the National Health Care Workers Union is concerned the technology may not become good enough to make it an attractive option for the company.

Dr. Emma Olsen, a psychiatrist at Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo and a union representative, said the union is also pushing back against management’s demands to reduce the time spent on patient notes or responding to patients’ messages.

“They’re trying to waste all this time. They just want us to see people one after the other, to see more people for less time with fewer resources,” she said.

Katy Roemer, an adult and family medicine nurse, said the California Nurses Association shares the concerns raised by mental health professionals and wants to ensure humans are providing care to other humans.

“Will AI benefit patients? Will AI benefit the people who work for Kaiser Permanente? Or will AI benefit the company’s bottom line?” she said. “So we want transparent AI, which allows people to do their jobs.”

In a message sent to employees this week, management said it had hired more mental health workers.

“We view technology – and AI, in particular – as a way to help you manage your practice and provide you with tools that facilitate better access to care and better connection with patients,” read the message sent on behalf of Lionel Sims, senior vice president, Human Resources, Health Plan and Hospitals at Kaiser Foundation, and Priya Smith, chief human resources officer at Permanente Medical Group.

In 2023, Kaiser agreed to a $200 million settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care for violations of state mental health laws.