DoH publishes AI Clinician Framework to guide responsible research into AI clinician systems

The Department of Health — Abu Dhabi (DoH), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the emirate, has published an AI Clinician Framework, a world-first regulatory framework that sets out how AI clinician systems may ultimately be authorised to perform clinical activities that would otherwise require a licensed clinician.

The framework will set the foundation to establish policies that govern the research and operation of these systems in Abu Dhabi.

Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and Dr. Noura Khamis, Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi announced the framework at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit, setting out the emirate’s approach to studying the next generation of AI clinician systems safely and responsibly.

Under the framework, an AI clinician system’s competence is assessed against the specific clinical activities it would perform. A wider clinical scope would require stronger evidence and competence before being considered. The framework also mandates safeguards at all levels of clinical scope, including physician oversight and accountability, and referral to a physician when needed.

The framework provides the basis for future DoH policies and supporting standards, which will define the clinical activities an AI clinician system could be authorised to perform, the evidence required at each stage, and the thresholds against which it would be evaluated.

Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori said, “Trust is the foundation on which every lasting advance in medicine is built, and artificial intelligence is no exception. The AI Clinician Framework builds upon that trust, enabling the next generation of AI clinician systems to be researched responsibly, with patient safety as the condition for every step forward.”

Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi said, “The AI Clinician Framework sets rigorous requirements for research into the potential of AI clinician systems, with patient safety and physician oversight at its core. It gives innovators a clear and responsible path to study what comes next, and gives patients and physicians’ confidence that every advancement is earned through evidence.”

The framework forms part of DoH’s strategy for AI-enabled health innovation, supporting research environments where frontier innovations can be studied safely. Research under the framework will be conducted within Abu Dhabi’s ‘living lab’ model, supported by integrated, intelligent health infrastructure and governed pathways for clinical research.