As potential uses for AI and new AI tools are expanding faster than most can keep up with, health-care organizations are increasingly facing challenges around governance, validation, transparency, and patient safety regarding the use of AI in medicine. To address these issues, The Joint Commission—a global driver of quality improvement and patient safety in health care—has launched the Responsible Use of AI in Healthcare (RUAIH) certification, a voluntary program that recognizes U.S. health-care organizations and systems that are ensuring safe and responsible AI use.

Announced on June 1, 2026, the certification builds on AI guidance released by The Joint Commission and the Coalition for Health AI in 2025 following consultation with more than 20 health care and technology organizations. Unlike regulatory pathways that evaluate individual AI products, the RUAIH assesses whether health-care organizations have established appropriate governance and oversight for AI across clinical, operational, and administrative settings. Organizations must either be accredited by the Joint Commission or in compliance with applicable federal laws. 

The certification focuses on five areas considered essential for responsible AI implementation: governance, data management, risk and bias mitigation, ongoing monitoring and validation of AI performance and safety, and transparency through education and workforce training. Together, these standards are intended to help organizations manage AI throughout its lifecycle, from adoption to ongoing performance evaluation.

Importantly, the certification does not assess or endorse individual AI algorithms or software. Instead, it evaluates the institutional processes used to select, implement, monitor, and oversee AI technologies. The goal is to ensure organizations have safeguards in place to address issues such as data quality, privacy, algorithmic bias, clinical oversight, and patient safety.

The framework is particularly relevant to oncology, where AI is increasingly being used in areas including radiology, digital pathology, treatment planning, clinical decision support, and workflow automation. As these applications become more common, attention is shifting beyond algorithm performance toward ensuring AI remains reliable across different patient populations and clinical environments.

A central component of the certification is continuous monitoring and evaluation. Rather than assuming an AI tool will continue to perform as expected after deployment, organizations are expected to establish processes for monitoring accuracy, identifying performance drift, and mitigating potential bias over time. This reflects growing recognition that AI systems require ongoing oversight as clinical practice, patient populations, and data sources evolve.

Standards set by the certification also acknowledge that the health-care organization or system has a formal governance structure for managing AI across the organization and processes in place for protecting patient data. 

In addition, the certification emphasizes patient transparency/consent and workforce education. Health-care organizations are encouraged to establish clear policies describing how AI is used, how clinicians interact with AI-generated outputs, and how staff are trained to understand both the capabilities and limitations of these technologies.

In announcing the initiative, Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Joint Commission, said that widespread AI adoption has created a need for consistent governance. "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," he said. "With this new certification, the Joint Commission is providing health-care organizations with the blueprint for safely and appropriately using AI."

The certification reflects a broader shift in AI implementation. As adoption expands, organizations are increasingly expected to demonstrate not only that AI tools perform well, but also that they have robust processes to validate, monitor, and govern their use. The RUAIH certification provides a structured framework for meeting those expectations while supporting patient safety and maintaining clinician confidence in AI-enabled care.

ASCO AI in Oncology is published by Conexiant under a license arrangement with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO^®). The ideas and opinions expressed in ASCO AI in Oncology do not necessarily reflect those of Conexiant or ASCO. For more information, see Policies.