Every day we see headlines and examples highlighting the impact of artificial intelligence on our lives. As with many transformative technologies, no one can predict with certainty how life will change in 10 years due to AI’s vast potential, so people find reason for both optimism and caution.
The good news is that in the medical field, AI is already having many significant positive impacts across various aspects of care delivery.
In response to a request from the Department of Health and Human Services for information on accelerating the adoption and use of artificial intelligence as part of clinical care, we told the department, in part:
“Our member hospitals and health systems are recognizing the potential of AI tools to improve outcomes, increase access, and reduce costs. From ambient listening technologies that assist with clinical documentation, to chatbots that assist with scheduling and triage, to algorithms that assist clinicians with image interpretation, AI-based tools are already having a significant positive impact on hospitals and the patients they serve.”
However, it is important that the continued expansion and adoption of AI in healthcare be approached with caution and that policymakers balance the need for flexibility to foster innovation with appropriate policy guardrails to ensure patient safety and improve the patient experience.
To accelerate AI adoption, we encouraged HHS to:
Synchronize and leverage existing policy frameworks to avoid redundancy. AI policies need to be flexible to keep pace with innovation, but they also need to be synchronized and integrated with certain existing health policy frameworks to minimize duplication.
Remove regulatory barriers. Certain laws and regulations in the healthcare ecosystem, such as a patchwork of state privacy laws, indirectly impact hospitals and health systems’ ability to develop and deploy certain AI tools. We provided recommendations on how to reduce regulatory barriers that impede the development and deployment of AI tools.
Ensure safe and effective use of AI. We recommended policies that ensure clinicians are included in the decision-making loops of algorithms that can impact access to and delivery of care, including pre-approval to ensure the continued integrity of tools, consistent privacy and security standards for third-party vendors, and post-deployment standards for healthcare AI developers.
Align incentives and address infrastructure factors. Scaling up AI in healthcare requires the right incentives and infrastructure investments. These are important for both provider preparation and patient induction. That said, reimbursement for AI tools should not come at the expense of other health services.
These wise recommendations will help ensure that the integration of AI’s impressive capabilities across healthcare fields is seamless and productive, improving the care experience for both patients and healthcare professionals.
To help you understand how this is playing out in hospitals and health systems, we have published a Leadership Dialogue video conversation with Mark Boom, MD, President and CEO of Houston Methodist and 2026 AHA Board Chair, and Amy Lockman, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence, a system-wide initiative at Rutgers Health and RWJ Barnabas Health. They explore AI applications that bring measurable improvements in hospital safety, clinician burnout, and how “living lab” approaches, multidisciplinary teams, and responsible AI integration can benefit patients and healthcare workers.
Belief that AI has the potential to transform healthcare has grown in recent years. In 2019, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was quoted as saying, “AI is perhaps the most transformative technology of our time, and healthcare is perhaps the most pressing application of AI.”
It’s food for thought and a reminder that we need to do things right.
