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Blog
Demetri Giannikopoulos

What Role Should an AI Vendor Play in Clinical AI Governance? 

Adoption, C-Suite, Data Management, Patient Management, Workflow
Table of Contents

An enterprise AI strategy is built on four key pillars. While many are internal to the organization, external factors – namely, the AI partner chosen and regulatory landscape – will have significant influence on successful adoption. 

These two elements must work in harmony to ensure the safe and effective implementation of AI solutions, but what role should an AI partner play in health system AI governance? 

AI partners provide in-depth technical knowledge that is necessary to ensure safe and transparent deployment, and they have first-hand experience navigating evolving regulatory requirements. Mature partners with large install bases also have a sightline to governance structures from health systems of all sizes and can offer recommendations or connect teams together for best practice sharing.

However, it’s essential to recognize that an AI partner’s role must be carefully defined within the broader context of an organization’s governance structure. While they contribute essential expertise and information, ultimate authority and responsibility for clinical decisions and patient care needs to remain internal.

The Roles an AI Partner Can Play in AI Governance

  • Transparency: Providing clear and comprehensive documentation of AI models, including data sources, algorithms and performance metrics. 
  • Regulatory Compliance: Staying current and adhering to relevant healthcare regulations and standards and helping health systems stay compliant. 
  • Continuous Improvement: Offering ongoing support, updates and maintenance to enhance AI performance and support change management.
  • Knowledge Transfer: Providing comprehensive training and ongoing education to ensure effective use of AI tools. 
  • Testing and Validation: Collaborating with AI champions to conduct testing and validation of AI models “in the wild” to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
  • Data Protection: Documented security measures to safeguard patient data.

The Roles an AI Partner Should Not Play in AI Governance

  • Clinical Decision-Making: AI is a clinical decision support tool. Final decisions regarding patient care and treatment should always be made by healthcare professionals.
  • Workflow Integration: An effective AI partner can help visualize how AI will optimize existing workflows. However, the technology should seamlessly integrate into current processes. Workflow optimization recommendations should be driven by patient care needs, not technological constraints.
  • Performance Evaluation: AI partners should provide built-in monitoring tools. These tools should track data drift and performance against established use cases. However, collaborative monitoring between partners and the healthcare organization is essential to maintain a system of checks and balances.
  • Policy Development: AI partners can offer valuable insights into best practices. They can share knowledge on effective governance structures for specific use cases. However, the development of internal guidelines for AI use and ethical considerations remains the sole responsibility of the healthcare organization.

Finding Balance

By fostering a collaborative relationship with an AI partner that is built on mutual trust and respect, healthcare organizations will effectively maintain control over patient care and organizational decisions while still benefiting from external expertise. Remember: a true partner will never compromise the organization’s goals or the well-being of patients in the name of driving influence.

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Demetri Giannikopoulos

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