Given the precarious excitement of the moment—or is it exciting precarity?—policymakers and healthcare leaders must set directives guiding not only what to do with AI but also when to do it. 

Integrating AI into the electronic medical record can make patient data more usable and dependable for end-users, according to a review of the relevant scientific literature published this month in the American Journal of Clinical and Medical Research.

When appropriately applied in critical care settings, AI can deliver considerable value to clinical staff, hospital management and local communities. In the process the technology may help resolve persistent staffing shortages.

HHS has thought through the ways AI can and should become an integral part of healthcare, human services and public health. Last Friday—possibly just days ahead of seating a new secretary—the agency released a detailed plan for getting there from here.

Close to half the world’s cybersecurity professionals, 45%, have zero involvement in projects within their respective organizations to develop, implement and govern AI solutions. 

Some FDA-approved medical devices age more safely than others. That’s no less true of AI-enabled technologies than of any others. The agency spells out the ramifications in draft guidance issued this week. 

Watch for healthcare AI to increase its footprint in the patient-safety domain over the coming year. 

The past 12 months have brought numerous exciting advances involving AI and related emerging technologies. Let us not fail to take a short last look at some of the more spectacular flops.