The American Medical Association (AMA) has launched the Center for Digital Health and AI to lead in the development and integration of AI tools in healthcare, aiming to improve patient care and reduce physician workload.

AMA CEO John Whyte highlights that augmented intelligence will be crucial for the future of healthcare, but current efforts are just beginning to explore its full potential, emphasizing the importance of clinical understanding for successful AI adoption.

The AMA's initiative aligns with broader medical community concerns, such as those from the American College of Physicians, which advocates that AI should support, not replace, physicians' decision-making, stressing human oversight.

To promote ethical AI use, the AMA has developed resources like an eight-step playbook and a 'Governance for Augmented Intelligence' toolkit, addressing issues like accountability, oversight, and bias.

Future plans include refining policies, integrating AI into clinical workflows, educating physicians, and expanding AI applications into decision support, remote monitoring, population health, and biomedical research, with a focus on safety, transparency, and ethics.

The establishment of the center follows a JAMA report that identified key AI progress areas, including stakeholder engagement, effectiveness measures, data infrastructure, and policy incentives.

The broader goal is to use AI to augment physician capabilities, enhancing diagnosis, treatment, and patient relationships while addressing challenges like data security, bias, and regulation.

Recent surveys show AI use among physicians increased from 38% in 2023 to 66% in 2024, with benefits like reduced administrative burdens and improved patient care, though concerns about privacy, safety, bias, and liability remain.

Physicians remain cautious about AI, with nearly half calling for more regulatory oversight to build trust, despite recognizing its benefits, as 68% acknowledged AI's positive impact in 2024.

The center's main focus is influencing policy, integrating AI into clinical workflows, providing physician education, and fostering cross-sector collaboration to align innovation with patient needs.

It aims to shape regulations, ensure safe AI use, and involve physicians in AI tool design to support healthcare professionals and improve patient care.

Despite growing adoption, with about two-thirds of physicians using AI tools, the AMA developed an eight-step governance framework to establish accountability, oversight, and staff training for AI in healthcare.

The AMA's initiatives are expected to influence AI companies and tech giants by emphasizing transparent, physician-centric, and ethically designed solutions, potentially reshaping the healthcare AI market and encouraging compliance with AMA guidelines.