Joint Commission launches responsible AI use certification

One year after announcing a new initiative to bring responsible AI to healthcare, Joint Commission has launched a certification program for healthcare organizations that want to align their AI governance efforts to a standardized framework of best practices.   

The Responsible Use of AI in Healthcare (RUAIH) certification builds on guidance from Joint Commission and the Coalition for Healthcare AI (CHAI), which was published in September of 2025.  

The voluntary certification program will recognize healthcare organizations in the United States that demonstrate certain levels of governance, safeguards, monitoring processes, and education that will support responsible adoption and deployment of AI-enabled tools. 

The certification doesn’t validate individual products or tools, but instead focuses on the underlying principles and processes that a specific organization is using to guide and monitor their AI adoption efforts. 

“Joint Commission’s goal is to provide governance support for delivering the safest and highest quality care for U.S. health systems across the care continuum. With more than 80% of physicians currently using AI in professional settings, there is a fast-growing need for universal standards for implementing this transformational technology in responsible ways,” said Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, president and CEO, Joint Commission.   

“AI has the potential to unlock discoveries and improve quality, safety, and operating efficiency. With this new certification, Joint Commission is providing healthcare organizations with the blueprint for safely and appropriately using AI.”  

The certification reviews five major areas: governance, effective data management, risk and bias reduction, evaluating and validating the safety and effectiveness of tools, and transparency, education, and training.  

For example, organizations may be evaluated on whether they have written policies in place that address permitted and prohibited use or AI tools, or whether they have a solid plan to identify, address, and mitigate risks and biases in their algorithms. Joint Commission will also be looking for how well the organization addresses staff education and training, and if they have support in place to promote patient transparency, consent, and education about how AI is being used in patient care. 

The new program dovetails with the Joint Commission and CHAI guidance released last September, which lays out the elements of responsible AI use, including ongoing quality monitoring, data security, patient privacy and transparency, and assessing and reporting risks, adverse events, and biases. 

At its core, strong AI governance comes down to clarity and consistency in establishing policies across key domains – as well as adhering to those policies in practice. 

“We are seeing the power of AI every day in our work,” said Aaron Miri, DHA, FCHIME, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Information Officer, Baptist Health. “Most evidently, it is making our processes more efficient and our staff more productive, enabling nurses and doctors to spend more time doing what they love most: delivering quality care to patients and their families.”  

“It is critical that hospitals have a framework to follow for this emerging and evolving technology. This new certification from Joint Commission has been long-awaited by our organization and many others across the industry as AI tools become increasingly embedded in our clinical, operational, administrative, and care-support workflows.”  

More information about the certification program is available here. 

Jennifer Bresnick is a journalist and freelance content creator with a decade of experience in the health IT industry.  Her work has focused on leveraging innovative technology tools to create value, improve health equity, and achieve the promises of the learning health system.  She can be reached at [email protected].