The legal and ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence in managing medical records in Oman

Abstract

This research investigates the legal and ethical implications surrounding the application and management of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare record management in Oman, particularly analyzing the role of such aspects for building healthcare professionals’ trust on such AI-based systems. Using international regulations (GDPR, WHO, EU HLEG) and national legislation (Personal Data Protection Law, Royal Decree 6/2022, Executive Regulation 34/2024), the research is quantitatively descriptive. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the data from 309 healthcare professionals in public as well as private healthcare organizations in Oman. The four-factor measurement model consisted of constructs of privacy/data protection, legal framework/accountability, ethical safeguards, and trust in AI. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the four-factor model had a good fit, and the structural equation model analysis explained the determinants of trust. The findings indicate that perceived privacy and data protection were most strongly associated with healthcare professionals’ trust in AI-assisted medical records. Ethical safeguards were also positively associated with trust. By contrast, the perceived legal framework and accountability dimension was negatively associated with trust, suggesting that healthcare professionals may view current legal arrangements as unclear or insufficiently reassuring regarding liability, redress, and accountability. Given the cross-sectional survey design, these results should be interpreted as associations between perceptions rather than causal effects. The study suggests that privacy-by-design practices, clearer accountability procedures, and visible ethical governance may support more trustworthy implementation of AI-enabled medical record systems in Oman.