HHS outlines healthcare AI priorities after industry feedback

Federal health officials detail AI adoption roadmap

The Department of Health and Human Services has identified three core priorities for accelerating artificial intelligence adoption in healthcare after analyzing hundreds of responses to a request for information issued last December.

During a Thursday webinar, HHS Deputy Chief AI Officer Arman Sharma said the healthcare sector is seeking coordination across federal agencies, practical support for AI implementation and governance, and assistance in evaluating which AI tools deliver results. "We believe that starting with these three things and acting on constant engagement from this community is what's needed to establish trust," Sharma said. "And trust in this technology is the only thing that will lead to responsible, but also effective, adoption."

The feedback came from providers, researchers, and professional organizations responding to the HHS request for information on how the department could use its regulatory, research, and reimbursement authority to speed AI deployment in clinical settings.

Why it matters

As healthcare organizations face growing demand from an aging population, AI tools promise to expand capacity by automating documentation, analyzing health data, and supporting clinical decision-making. But deployment challenges—including accuracy concerns, bias risks, model degradation, and privacy issues—have slowed adoption. Clear federal guidance on implementation standards and evaluation criteria could help providers navigate these risks while capturing AI's potential to reduce administrative costs and improve care delivery.

Agency-specific initiatives underway

Several HHS agencies outlined active AI programs during the presentation. The Administration for Community Living launched a competition this year for developers building AI tools to support caregivers assisting older adults and people with disabilities. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is developing AI agents to autonomously manage cardiovascular disease care.

The Food and Drug Administration is working on policy development but cannot share specifics yet, according to Dr. Rick Abramson, director of the FDA's Digital Health Center of Excellence. He said the agency is focusing on clarifying what it regulates, developing risk-proportionate oversight, managing the full AI product lifecycle, and coordinating with other government bodies and international regulators.

"It's been said that technology evolves on a scale of weeks to months, while regulation evolves on a scale of months to years," Abramson said. "There is some truth to that, and the world is looking to the FDA for leadership in how to approach advanced clinical AI tools."

Coordination challenges remain

Sharma acknowledged that fragmented federal approaches have hindered progress. "Too often in government, the right hand doesn't talk to the left hand," he said. "And the opportunity for healthcare AI that we have is simply too important for us to get lost in ourselves, so to speak."

The Trump administration has generally pursued a deregulatory approach to AI, prioritizing development speed over additional oversight despite calls from some quarters for stronger federal guardrails.

These details were first reported by Healthcare Dive.