What's Happening?
The American Medical Association (AMA) has adopted a new policy clarifying that while artificial intelligence (AI) can assist physicians in healthcare, it cannot be granted physician licensure, professional titles, or certification to practice medicine.
This policy, adopted at the 2026 AMA Interim Meeting, emphasizes that AI-enabled technologies should be integrated into physician-led teams and used under the direction of the treating physician. AMA President Willie Underwood III, MD, MSc, MPH, stated that patients deserve to know who is responsible for their care and that physicians require authority, oversight, and liability protections when AI is part of the care team. The policy also calls for model legislation to differentiate between the authorization of medical technology and professional licensure, and to prohibit misrepresenting nonhuman entities with titles reserved for physicians. Furthermore, the AMA will advocate for safeguards to prevent AI developers from using patients' clinical data for proprietary or research purposes without explicit authorization.
Why It's Important?
This policy is crucial for defining the boundaries of AI in the rapidly evolving U.S. healthcare landscape. By asserting that AI cannot be licensed as a physician, the AMA aims to maintain human oversight and accountability in medical practice, which is vital for patient safety and trust. The call for transparent, auditable evidence of AI tools' safety and efficacy, along with appropriate regulation and documentation, addresses growing concerns about the reliability and ethical implications of AI in clinical settings. The AMA's advocacy for legislation establishing a framework for physician oversight of AI clinical decision-making, including protections for physicians' independent clinical judgment and against liability for choosing not to use an AI tool or follow an AI recommendation, is significant. This protects physicians from undue liability for AI failures and ensures that clinical judgment remains paramount, thereby safeguarding the quality of patient care and the integrity of the medical profession.
What's Next?
The AMA will advocate for federal and state legislation to implement the principles outlined in its new policy. This includes establishing that liability for patient harm resulting from erroneous AI output, when a physician has used the product as intended and exercised appropriate clinical judgment, should rest with the AI vendor, manufacturer, or distributor, not the physician. The AMA also seeks to hold AI vendors and manufacturers to the same product liability standards as other medical device manufacturers and require them to maintain adequate product liability insurance. Additionally, the policy aims to prohibit contractual provisions that attempt to shift liability from manufacturers to physicians or health systems. The AMA will also push for legislation requiring AI vendors to disclose known failure rates, limitations, and performance data across different patient populations. These legislative efforts will shape the future regulatory environment for AI in healthcare, influencing how AI tools are developed, deployed, and integrated into clinical practice across the U.S.
Beyond the Headlines
Beyond the immediate regulatory implications, the AMA's stance highlights deeper ethical and societal considerations regarding the role of AI in human-centric professions. The policy underscores the irreplaceable value of human judgment, empathy, and accountability in medicine, even as AI offers powerful analytical capabilities. This debate extends to the potential for AI to exacerbate existing health disparities if not carefully regulated, particularly concerning data bias and equitable access to advanced AI-driven care. The AMA's focus on preventing the misuse of patient data by AI developers without explicit authorization also touches upon broader privacy concerns in the digital age. Furthermore, the policy's emphasis on physician-led oversight in administrative and governance workflows, such as credentialing and peer review, suggests a proactive approach to ensuring that AI serves as a tool to augment, rather than replace, human expertise and ethical decision-making in all facets of healthcare. The issue of AI-generated deepfakes, particularly those exploiting minors, also brings to light the urgent need for comprehensive legal frameworks to address the harmful applications of AI technology.
