Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a bigger role in healthcare systems in the United States and around the world. AI is used for many things like helping with diagnosis and handling administrative tasks, such as automating front-office work and communicating with patients. As AI becomes a common part of healthcare, it is important to use it in ways that follow ethical rules and respect people’s rights. Healthcare workers, managers, and IT staff must make sure AI respects human rights, follows laws, and keeps the trust of patients and staff.
This article talks about the need for governance systems that include many different stakeholders and can adapt to changes. It focuses on the cultural and technological factors in U.S. healthcare. It also looks at how AI-driven automation affects healthcare work and how responsible governance can help manage these changes.
AI can help healthcare run more smoothly and improve patient care. But using AI without good rules can cause problems. It can reinforce biases, harm patient privacy, or reduce accountability. In November 2021, UNESCO set the first global rules for AI ethics called the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. These rules focus on protecting human rights and dignity wherever AI is used, including healthcare.
In the United States, healthcare has many cultures and laws. This means AI governance must involve many people. Healthcare leaders, doctors, patients, regulators, and tech experts all need to work together. This group approach helps make sure AI respects the needs and values of many communities. It promotes fair treatment and stops discrimination against people because of gender, race, or economic status.
Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, warned that AI risks “embedding societal biases and threatening fundamental freedoms” without the right controls. In U.S. healthcare, this means it is very important to watch AI systems closely and make sure humans make the final decisions, especially in important areas like diagnosis, treatment, or patient care.
AI changes fast, and so do healthcare rules. This means governance systems must be flexible. Emmanouil Papagiannidis and his team created a model that says AI governance needs three kinds of practices: structural, relational, and procedural. Structural means setting up governance groups, creating rules, and having ways to check compliance. Relational means involving different people to work and talk together. Procedural means doing regular audits, checking impacts, and improving AI systems over time.
For healthcare managers and IT staff in the U.S., adaptive governance means updating rules whenever new AI tools appear or when laws change. For example, AI systems that handle patient data must always follow HIPAA rules. Adaptive governance helps keep AI legal and ethical as things change.
Governance should also keep checking AI’s safety, fairness, and accountability. Procedures like Ethical Impact Assessments (EIA), suggested by UNESCO, help healthcare groups find and fix problems AI might cause for patients or staff. This review includes working with people affected by AI, such as patients or clinicians, to understand its real effects and any concerns.
It is important to think about cultural diversity in the U.S. when making AI governance systems. Differences in language, background, and health beliefs affect how patients use healthcare and technology.
Including diverse voices—especially from groups that are often left out—makes AI fairer and more inclusive. UNESCO’s Women4Ethical AI project points out how important gender fairness is in designing and using AI. Many U.S. healthcare providers also work to avoid gender bias in AI systems that help with clinical decisions or patient communication.
Healthcare groups should include patient advocates and community leaders in governance. These partnerships help find biases and problems in AI tools. For example, a phone-based AI that schedules appointments or sends reminders must recognize different accents, languages, or communication styles to work well for everyone.
Good governance means being open and clear with patients. When everyone understands how AI works and can agree to its use, trust grows between healthcare providers and patients.
Besides ethics, AI also makes healthcare work more efficient and helps patients get involved. AI can automate front-office jobs like answering calls and booking appointments. Companies like Simbo AI offer these services to medical offices.
Automating tasks like phone answering and scheduling reduces work for staff and helps patients wait less. For healthcare managers, this means better use of people’s time and happier patients. For example, an AI answering system can handle basic questions any time of day, letting staff focus on harder jobs.
But adding AI tools needs careful handling. Automation must protect patient privacy and keep data safe, especially since phone systems deal with sensitive health details. If AI tools are used without proper rules, they might break HIPAA laws or make patients lose trust because of mistakes.
Governance procedures make sure AI used in automation is watched closely for accuracy, safety, and fairness. The ethical frameworks mentioned earlier provide rules for using these tools while respecting patient rights and keeping healthcare organizations responsible.
Healthcare managers and IT staff have the job of creating and keeping governance systems that handle the details of AI use. The U.S. healthcare system is complex and spread out, with many private and public providers. Governance models must fit different sizes of organizations, patient groups, and levels of technology.
Setting up governance can start by making AI ethics committees or teams. These should have people from clinical staff, IT, legal experts, and patient groups. These teams write policies that match U.S. laws and global ethics rules like those from UNESCO.
Managers should also have regular training on ethical AI use, privacy, and honesty in how AI is used. Teaching healthcare workers about AI helps staff and patients feel more confident about technology in healthcare.
Monitoring and review systems help check that AI works fairly and safely. Using tools like Ethical Impact Assessments gives a clear way to find problems early and make changes as needed.
UNESCO says human oversight is very important in using AI. AI should not replace human judgment, especially in healthcare where decisions affect patient health directly. Healthcare managers and IT staff must make sure AI tools help, not replace, the skill of medical experts.
This means AI systems for patient scheduling or front-office tasks must allow people to step in and check things. This is important if unusual situations happen or if patients have concerns.
Using AI in U.S. healthcare can help improve patient care and make operations smoother. But this only works well if AI use follows ethical, inclusive, and flexible governance rules. These rules help make sure AI respects human rights, cultural differences, and laws while keeping up with new technology.
Healthcare managers, practice owners, and IT staff play key roles in setting up governance systems that include different voices and keep reviewing AI tools. Automation tools like AI phone answering services bring practical help but need careful oversight to protect privacy and keep patient trust.
By balancing new technology with good ethics, U.S. healthcare can provide safe, fair, and useful AI services to all patients now and in the future.
The Observatory aims to provide a global resource for policymakers, regulators, academics, the private sector, and civil society to find solutions for the most pressing AI challenges, ensuring AI adoption is ethical and responsible worldwide.
The protection of human rights and dignity is central, emphasizing respect, protection, and promotion of fundamental freedoms, ensuring that AI systems serve humanity while preserving human dignity.
A human rights approach ensures AI respects fundamental freedoms, promoting fairness, transparency, privacy, accountability, and non-discrimination, preventing biases and harms that could infringe on individuals’ rights.
The core values include: 1) human rights and dignity; 2) living in peaceful, just, and interconnected societies; 3) ensuring diversity and inclusiveness; and 4) environment and ecosystem flourishing.
Transparency and explainability ensure stakeholders understand AI decision-making processes, building trust, facilitating accountability, and enabling oversight necessary to avoid harm or biases in sensitive healthcare contexts.
UNESCO offers tools like the Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) to evaluate preparedness and the Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA) to identify and mitigate potential harms of AI projects collaboratively with affected communities.
Human oversight ensures AI does not replace ultimate responsibility and accountability, preserving ethical decision-making authority and safeguarding against unintended consequences of autonomous AI in healthcare.
They promote social justice by requiring inclusive approaches, non-discrimination, and equitable access to AI benefits, preventing AI from embedding societal biases that could affect marginalized patient groups.
Sustainability requires evaluating AI’s environmental and social impacts aligned with evolving goals such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring AI contributes positively long-term without harming health or ecosystems.
It fosters inclusive participation, respecting international laws and cultural contexts, enabling adaptive policies that evolve with technology while addressing diverse societal needs and ethical challenges in healthcare AI deployment.
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