Opinion: STAT+: Hospitals’ AI may be drifting. Who’s watching?

STAT PlusOpinionOpinions+ Hospitals’ AI may be drifting. Who’s watching? When hospital AI goes wrong, the responsibility for fixing it rests not with IT, but with senior leadership Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Peter Pronovost, Justin Norden, and Kedar MateJuly 22, 2026 Pronovost is chief quality and clinical transformation officer at University Hospitals. Norden is co-founder and CEO of Qualified Health. Mate is co-founder and chief medical officer of Qualified Health. Walk into almost any U.S. hospital today and you will find AI doing some of the important work of medicine: drafting clinical notes, flagging sepsis, screening imaging, conducting prior authorizations, and answering patient messages. Adoption is moving fast, and the benefits are real. But there’s a problem. Most health systems are monitoring the safety and performance of these tools the same way they govern a new MRI scanner in 2010: a subcommittee, a checklist, a quarterly meeting, an approval or a rejection. The process could take six months or longer.Advertisement That approach was already strained for older digital tools. For AI, it is dangerously inadequate, and the responsibility for fixing it rests not with IT, but with senior leadership. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts. Already have an account? Log in Monthly $39 Totals $468 per year $39/month Get Started Totals $468 per year Starter $30 for 3 months, then $399/year $30 for 3 months Get Started Then $399/year Annual $399 Save 15% $399/year Get Started Save 15% 11+ Users Custom Savings start at 25%! Request A Quote Request A Quote Savings start at 25%! 2-10 Users $300 Annually per user $300/year Get Started $300 Annually per user View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe Log In Artificial intelligence, hospitals, STAT+ Submit a correction requestReprints Peter Pronovost Justin Norden Kedar Mate Newsletter The smartest thinkers in life sciences on what's happening — and what's to come Recommended The Workup July 22, 2026 STAT Plus: I’m a cardiologist. I’m not sure the new cholesterol drug enlicitide is a game-changer First Opinion July 21, 2026 Pete Hegseth, ‘The Odyssey,’ and the testosterone myth Advertisement First Opinion July 21, 2026 How a controversial rule could hurt the NIH’s ability to manage risk First Opinion July 21, 2026 Science and the public are learning the wrong lessons from Covid First Opinion July 20, 2026 My husband’s suicide shows there’s something very wrong with the U.S. insurance industry Subscriber Picks