AI in Health Care Is Already Working — and Policy Needs to Catch Up

Hospitals and health systems are already deploying AI across clinical documentation, patient scheduling, triage, and diagnostic imaging — and seeing meaningful results. AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack outlines policy recommendations submitted to HHS, urging federal leaders to synchronize existing frameworks, reduce state-level privacy law barriers to AI deployment, keep clinicians in the decision loop for algorithms affecting care access, and align reimbursement incentives without displacing payments for other services. A companion Leadership Dialogue video features executives from Houston Methodist and RWJ Barnabas Health discussing how “living lab” models and interdisciplinary AI governance are delivering measurable improvements in patient safety and clinician burnout. The AHA’s position is that responsible AI adoption requires both regulatory clarity and appropriate infrastructure investment.