URGENT UPDATE: The American Heart Association (AHA) has just released a groundbreaking science advisory that aims to revolutionize the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care. As the industry rapidly embraces AI, the advisory urges health systems to adopt clear rules to ensure responsible implementation, addressing critical gaps that could affect patient care.
Published in the AHA’s flagship journal, Circulation, the advisory titled “Pragmatic Approaches to the Evaluation and Monitoring of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care” outlines a pragmatic framework for evaluating and monitoring AI tools specifically in cardiovascular and stroke care.
Currently, while hundreds of AI tools have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), only a small fraction undergoes rigorous assessment for clinical impact, fairness, or bias. A recent survey revealed that only 61% of hospitals utilizing predictive AI tools validated them against local data before deployment, with even fewer checking for bias. This discrepancy raises urgent concerns about the safety and efficacy of AI across diverse patient populations, particularly in smaller, rural, and non-academic institutions.
“AI is transforming health care faster than traditional evaluation frameworks can keep up,” stated Dr. Sneha S. Jain, a key author of the advisory and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford Health Care. “Our goal is to help health systems adopt AI responsibly, ensuring that innovation genuinely improves care.”
The advisory lays out four guiding principles for health systems to follow: strategic alignment, ethical evaluation, usefulness and effectiveness, and financial performance. These principles aim to guarantee that AI tools provide measurable clinical benefits while protecting individuals from both known and potential harms.
The AHA’s commitment to responsible AI governance is underscored by its extensive network of nearly 3,000 hospitals, which includes over 500 rural and critical access facilities. This positions the AHA as a trusted leader in advancing ethical AI practices in health care.
In an ambitious move, the AHA has pledged more than $12 million in research funding for 2025 to explore innovative AI delivery strategies that prioritize safety and efficacy.
Moreover, the advisory emphasizes that monitoring AI tools must continue post-deployment, as their performance can shift with changing clinical practices and patient demographics. Health systems are urged to incorporate AI governance into existing quality assurance frameworks and establish clear criteria for retraining or retiring tools that show declining performance.
“Responsible AI use is not optional, it’s essential,” asserted Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, senior vice president of the Yale New Haven Health System. “This guidance provides practical steps for health systems to evaluate and monitor AI tools, ensuring they improve patient outcomes and support equitable, high-quality care.”
The implications of this advisory are profound, potentially reshaping the future of patient care across the globe. As AI continues to evolve, health systems must adapt swiftly to these guidelines to ensure that technological advancements lead to enhanced health outcomes for all.
For anyone involved in health care, this advisory is a must-read, providing essential insights into the responsible use of AI in clinical settings. The urgency cannot be overstated; the future of health care depends on it.
