Key Takeaways
- Hackensack Meridian Health is the first health network in the nation to earn The Joint Commission’s Responsible Use of AI in Healthcare Certification.
- The certification reviews how HMH manages AI safety, oversight, privacy, transparency and staff training.
- HMH evaluates and monitors AI tools to address safety, performance, risks and possible bias.
- You can ask your care team to explain how AI may support your care.
- HMH uses AI to support clinical care and operations, while keeping physicians, nurses and other team members involved in your care.
AI generated.
Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive health network, is proud to announce it has become the first healthcare network in the nation to earn The Joint Commission’s Responsible Use of AI in Healthcare (RUAIH) Certification. This honor recognizes HMH as a national leader in the responsible, safe, and ethical adoption of artificial intelligence across clinical patient care and operations.
This certification reflects HMH’s longstanding commitment to implementing AI in ways that prioritize patient safety, quality of care, governance, privacy, and transparency. Achieving this certification from Joint Commission, an independent, nonprofit organization, signals that HMH has the safeguards, monitoring processes, education, and accountability structures in place to support the safe, transparent, and effective use of this emerging technology.
“At Hackensack Meridian Health, we are committed to integrating AI responsibly and safely across our health network to advance the way we deliver care,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health. “AI has the potential to help clinicians detect diseases earlier, personalize treatment for every patient, improve the efficiency of our hospitals, and reduce administrative work that contributes to burnout. Most importantly, it enables physicians, nurses and team members to spend more time caring for patients.”
HMH has built a comprehensive framework to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence across the network. Guided by a formal AI governance structure, HMH combines robust data security and privacy protections with rigorous evaluation and ongoing monitoring of AI tools to ensure quality, safety, and performance. The network provides ongoing role-specific AI training as well as general AI literacy to staff and providers, ensuring they can confidently explain how these tools support patient care.
The Joint Commission evaluated HMH across core domains that establish the foundation for the responsible use of AI in healthcare:
- Governance and oversight for the responsible use of AI
- Safeguards to protect patient privacy and healthcare data
- Processes to identify, assess and reduce risks and bias in AI tools
- Monitoring processes to help ensure AI tools perform safely and effectively
- Transparency and education to help patients understand how AI may be used in their care
- Staff training to support the safe, responsible use of AI technologies
“The promise of artificial intelligence is not to replace the human side of medicine, but to strengthen it,” said Joel Klein, M.D., executive vice president, chief digital and information officer, Hackensack Meridian Health. “We’re leveraging this technology to give our providers time to focus on what matters most – the patients they serve. By thoughtfully integrating AI with rigorous oversight and governance, we’re empowering our clinicians with better tools while preserving the trust and personal connections that remain at the heart of every patient experience.”
"AI continues to rapidly transform the healthcare industry, helping healthcare organizations improve clinical decision-making, enhance operational efficiency, reduce administrative burden, and support patient care," said Ken Grubbs, DNP, MBA, RN, chief nursing executive and executive vice president of Accreditation and Certification Operations, Joint Commission. "Organizations must ensure the use of AI is guided by strong governance, rigorous oversight, and an unwavering focus on patient safety. Joint Commission commends HMH for demonstrating a responsible approach to AI adoption while advancing innovation in patient care."
To learn more about the Joint Commission's Responsible Use of AI in Healthcare Certification, visit here.
For more information on how HMH is using AI to advance patient care, visit here.