The real hospital AI regulator is not the FDA. It is the Joint Commission, which accredits 80% of US hospitals and controls access to 60% of their revenue.
In September 2025 the Joint Commission plus CHAI released AI governance guidance. Once it enters accreditation standards, hospitals operationalize it the same way they operationalize infection control. Mandatory committees, audits, evidence binders.
That shifts the AI procurement gate from innovation officers to legal, compliance, and clinical risk. Vendors without documentation mapping to the guidance get filtered before pricing conversations happen.
The core insight: every AI deployment is now a governance surface area, not just a tool. Compliance, legal, audit, patient safety, and cybersecurity exposure all live in that surface simultaneously.
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