The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a wide-ranging strategy to expand the implementation of artificial intelligence throughout the organisation. With this plan, HHS signals a strong commitment to modernising the American healthcare system, improving operational efficiency and enabling more advanced, data-driven health innovation. The strategy builds on earlier federal initiatives to promote AI use, while placing a renewed focus on governance, public trust, and safe application in clinical and public-health environments.
According to Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, HHS wants to break away from long-standing administrative obstacles that limit progress. “For too long, our department has been bogged down by bureaucracy and busy-work,” he writes. “It is time to tear down these barriers and unite in our use of technology to Make America Healthy Again.”
Where previous federal approaches to AI centred on experimentation and local initiatives, the new HHS framework provides a structured national agenda. It outlines how AI can be used responsibly across the department’s many divisions, from public-health agencies and regulatory bodies to healthcare delivery organisations and research institutes.
A five-pillar strategy for AI-enabled healthcare transformation
The new plan is built on five strategic pillars:
- Strengthening governance and risk management: HHS aims to create a transparent, well-defined governance model that ensures AI systems are safe, secure and trustworthy. This includes developing clear rules for data use, model validation and incident reporting.
- Developing shared AI infrastructure: The department plans to build a suite of AI resources, including cloud-based platforms, data pipelines, and technical toolkits that can be used across agencies. This shared infrastructure is intended to reduce fragmentation and accelerate innovation.
- Empowering the workforce: Every HHS employee now has access to AI tools such as ChatGPT. The goal is to build digital literacy and help staff integrate AI into daily workflows, from administrative tasks to data analysis.
- Setting national standards for AI in research and development: HHS intends to invest in programs that define technical, ethical, and scientific benchmarks for AI use in biomedical research, precision medicine, drug development and regulatory science.
- Integrating AI into public health and clinical care: Divisions within HHS are already testing AI tools that can analyse patient medical records in real time and provide personalised, context-aware recommendations. The strategy aims to scale such innovations while ensuring strict data-protection standards.
Balancing innovation with privacy and safety concerns
While experts acknowledge the transformative potential of HHS’ approach, they also highlight significant risks. Particularly concerning data governance. Health information is among the most sensitive personal data categories. Missteps in privacy protection or data-sharing practices could jeopardise public trust.
AI ethicist Oren Etzioni praises the ambition but warns against moving too quickly: “The HHS strategy lays out ambitious goals, centralized data infrastructure, rapid deployment of AI tools, and an AI-enabled workforce. But ambition brings risk when dealing with the most sensitive data Americans have: their health information.”
Similarly, Darrell West of the Brookings Institution notes that the document promises stronger risk management but offers limited detail on how this will work in practice, particularly when analysing aggregated population-level data.
These concerns are amplified by past controversies, including criticism of HHS for sharing sensitive healthcare data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Privacy advocates argue that robust safeguards must be non-negotiable, especially as AI becomes more deeply integrated into public-health operations.
A rapid expansion of AI initiatives
Despite these challenges, the strategic direction is clear. HHS reports 271 active or planned AI implementations in the 2024 fiscal year and expects this number to grow by 70% in 2025. If implemented responsibly, experts believe this could position HHS as a global leader in AI-driven public health and transform how healthcare is delivered, analysed and governed in the United States.
The strategy marks a decisive shift: AI is no longer optional but foundational to the future of health operations, biomedical innovation and patient-centred care.
