The Joint Commission announced Monday the launch of a new artificial intelligence certification program to provide a blueprint for responsible AI adoption in healthcare, touting it as a “first of its kind” program.
The Responsible Use of AI in Healthcare (RUAIH) certification is a voluntary program for organizations focused on the technology’s “safe, reliable, transparent and ethical use,” according to the Joint Commission. The program does not validate or certify individual products or tools.
Certification standards are centered around five areas:
- Governance
- Effective data management
- Risk and bias reduction
- Monitoring, evaluating, and validating safety performance, effectiveness and responsible use
- Transparency, education and training
Any healthcare organization may apply for the certification, and interested organizations do not have to be accredited by the Joint Commission.
Joint Commission President and CEO Jonathan Perlin, M.D., Ph.D., said in a statement that there is a “fast-growing need for universal standards” for AI implementation amid its increasing use in healthcare.
“AI has the potential to unlock discoveries and improve quality, safety, and operating efficiency,” Perlin said. “With this new certification, [the] Joint Commission is providing healthcare organizations with the blueprint for safely and appropriately using AI.”
The certification program comes days after the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) released a series of in-depth playbooks designed to provide health systems with practical guidance and baseline governance controls for implementing AI across organizations.
Each playbook includes suggested implementation guidance, tools, resources and examples for healthcare organizations to integrate into existing processes, according to CHAI. The playbooks provide the framework to achieve certification in the Joint Commission’s program.
In September, the Joint Commission and CHAI partnered on the RUAIH guidance document, outlining key principles of organizational management for the use of AI in health systems. It followed the June announcement of a partnership between the two organizations.
CHAI CEO Brian Anderson, M.D., said in a statement the organization “applauds” the new certification program.
“The Joint Commission certification and CHAI's recently published governance playbooks are tightly aligned on the need for responsible and transparent AI in healthcare,” Anderson said. “We believe this alignment will greatly reduce confusion and help to accelerate rapid and responsible adoption of AI in healthcare.”