AMA, FSMB issue report on AI accountability in medicine

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Medical Association (AMA) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) today released AI and the Practice of Medicine: Examining Accountability and Responsibility in the AI Era, a proceedings report from the organizations' joint forum held Sept. 14, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

The one-day discussion convened representatives of state medical boards, physicians, specialty societies, patients and patient advocates, health systems, technology developers, regulators, policymakers, legal experts and academics to examine a central question: When AI increasingly performs functions historically reserved to a licensed physician, how should physician responsibility and state medical board oversight evolve? The interchange of viewpoints focused on autonomous and semiautonomous AI tools and their implications for clinical responsibility, the role of state medical boards, regulatory approaches and the physician-patient relationship.

"State medical boards exist to protect patients, and that mission does not change as the tools of medicine change," said FSMB President and CEO Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, MACP. "As AI begins to perform an increasing number of clinical functions once reserved for licensed physicians, patients deserve clarity about who is responsible for their care and who is accountable when something goes wrong. The symposium brought forward candid and sometimes divergent perspectives, and it made clear that innovation and accountability must advance together."

The proceedings report synthesizes perspectives shared during the meeting and summarizes several key learnings. For example, AI is already changing how medicine is practiced and will redefine care teams and the physician's role, though views differ on how quickly. As AI proves able to perform select clinical functions, the line between supporting and practicing medicine becomes critical for oversight and patient protection. The report also finds that existing regulatory, licensure and liability frameworks were not designed for AI and need to be modernized, because patients and medical professionals are adopting AI faster than the health system is adapting.

"Patients and physicians are embracing AI at a remarkable pace, and the questions it raises about responsibility cannot wait," said AMA CEO and Executive Vice President John Whyte, MD, MPH. "But there is a difference between automating medical tasks and automating medicine itself. As AI takes on more clinical functions, physicians must help define where that line is drawn so that human judgment, trust and the physician-patient relationship remain at the center of care. This report gives the healthcare community a shared foundation for that work."

The report also outlines priority areas for future work:

• Establish best practices for appropriate use of AI in clinical care, the evidence needed for adoption in clinical settings, and how organizations should safely deploy and monitor performance.
• Clarify the boundary between clinical technology and the practice of medicine, defining when AI functions as a clinical tool and when it constitutes the practice of medicine.
• Modernize oversight, accountability and liability frameworks, establishing how responsibility for AI-related patient harm should be assigned and clarifying the roles of state medical boards, federal regulators, AI developers, physicians and other stakeholders.
• Prepare the physician and care team workforce by adapting medical education, clinical training, continuing professional development and team-based care models to support responsible AI use.
• Preserve patient-centered care and trust by integrating AI into care delivery in ways that are safe, transparent and equitable, while strengthening the physician-patient relationship and upholding medical ethics.

Building on these themes, the AMA Center for Digital Health and AI and the FSMB Workgroup on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Medicine will continue working with stakeholders to advance the priorities identified as most critical to the future of AI in healthcare. Through its Center for Digital Health and AI, the AMA is advancing AI governance, economic sustainability and care transformation so physicians take the leading role on shaping how AI is developed and used in medicine. FSMB's workgroup was established to support state medical boards in developing a consistent, patient-centered approach to AI oversight, and it plans to release draft guidance and recommendations for public comment in December 2026, ahead of a formal vote on adoption by the FSMB House of Delegates in April 2027.

The AMA and FSMB thank Manatt Health for its support in organizing and facilitating the convening.

The full proceedings report is available here.