What’s the news: The AMA has launched a Center for Digital Health and AI to put physicians at the center of shaping, guiding and implementing the augmented intelligence (AI) tools and other technologies that are transforming medicine.
AMA CEO and Executive Vice President John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, will discuss the move during a panel discussion today at the massive HLTH conference in Las Vegas. The conference typically draws thousands of attendees from across the health care industry.
The new AMA Center for Digital Health and AI will address four key areas that are pivotal to the long-term success of these technologies:
- Policy and regulatory leadership—working with regulators, policymakers and technology leaders to shape benchmarks for safe and effective use of AI in medicine and digital health tools.
- Clinical workflow integration—creating opportunities for physicians to shape AI and digital tools so they work within clinical workflows and enhance patient and clinician experience.
- Education and training—equipping physicians and health systems with knowledge and tools to integrate AI efficiently and effectively into practice.
- Collaboration—building partnerships across the tech, research, government and health care sectors to drive innovation aligned with patient needs.
From AI implementation to digital health adoption and EHR usability, the AMA is fighting to make technology work for physicians, ensuring that it is an asset to doctors.
Why it’s important: “Augmented intelligence will be a defining force in the future of health care, but right now we are barely scratching the surface of its potential,” Dr. Whyte said in a statement. “Digital health tools are everywhere and the technology has limitless opportunity, but if you don’t understand clinical practice or clinical workflow, even the best tools will never be fully implemented.”
With the launch of the center, “the AMA is leading in this space so physicians have a say in the technology and clinical care of the future,” he added. “Our goal is to harness innovation responsibly and effectively, so it improves patient care and reduces unnecessary burdens on physicians.”
The AMA’s survey research on AI (PDF) shows that physicians are largely enthusiastic about the potential of AI in health care, with 68% of those surveyed last year seeing at least some advantage to the use of AI in their practice—up from 65% in 2023. The survey also found that physicians’ use of AI rose from 38% in 2023 to 66% of physicians reporting they used some type of AI tool in practice in 2024.
However, there are still key concerns as physicians continue to explore how these tools will affect their practices. One-quarter of physicians surveyed said they were more worried than excited, recognizing potential risks to data privacy as well as reliability and safety concerns. Implementation guidance and research, including clinical evidence, remain critical to helping physicians adopt AI tools.
The new Center for Digital Health and AI aims to capitalize on growing enthusiasm around AI, help incorporate the technology into clinical workflow, and allay concerns.
Learn more: Explore the AMA STEPS Forward® toolkit, “Governance for Augmented Intelligence,” which is a comprehensive eight-step guide for health care organizations to establish a governance framework to implement, manage and scale AI solutions.
Find out how participants in the AMA Health System Member Program are using AI to make meaningful change.
Also, learn more with the AMA about the emerging landscape of health care AI. And find out how to apply AI to transform health care with the “AMA ChangeMedEd® Artificial Intelligence in Health Care Series.”
