How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Healthcare and Public Policy

Rutgers Online Staff

Date

September 16, 2026

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of how health care organizations, government agencies, and other public-serving institutions operate. In health care, AI can support everything from diagnostics and clinical decision-making to data analysis and day-to-day operations. In the public sector, it is also raising important questions about privacy, transparency, accountability, regulation, and responsible use.

As AI becomes more widely adopted, organizations need professionals who can look beyond the technology itself and understand how it should be evaluated, implemented, and governed. That is especially important in health care and public policy, where decisions about AI can have a direct impact on people, institutions, and public trust.

The Growing Role of AI in Healthcare

Healthcare is one of the areas where AI is already having a visible impact. By helping professionals make sense of large amounts of clinical, operational, and administrative data, AI can support better decision-making, improve workflows, and open up new possibilities for patient care.

Current applications include health data analysis, clinical decision support, diagnostic imaging, patient monitoring, pharmaceutical research, and health information management. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintains a list of AI-enabled medical devices authorized for marketing in the United States. The list includes technologies used across radiology, cardiovascular care, ultrasound, and other areas. Recent 2026 examples include an AI algorithm designed to identify signs associated with pulmonary hypertension from electrocardiogram data and AI-enabled imaging and ultrasound technologies.

AI is also moving beyond traditional predictive models into generative applications. In August 2026, the FDA issued a discussion paper on the regulation of generative AI-enabled medical devices, seeking input on issues including risk assessment, premarket evaluation, and postmarket monitoring. The agency noted both the potential of these technologies and the unique risks they may introduce compared with traditional software and other AI-enabled devices.

For professionals interested in this evolving field, Rutgers offers an Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Certificate through the School of Health Professions. The program emphasizes AI and data science concepts, techniques, and implementations in clinical and public health care settings. Rutgers Online also lists the 18-credit certificate among its online certificate offerings.

Why AI Governance and Policy Matter

As AI becomes more widely used, the challenge is no longer just what the technology can do, but how it should be used. Organizations must make decisions about when AI is appropriate, how risks should be evaluated, how data should be protected, who is accountable for AI-supported decisions, and what safeguards should be in place.

These questions are making AI governance increasingly important across government agencies, nonprofits, health care systems, and other organizations that serve the public. Privacy, algorithmic bias, transparency, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, human oversight, and accountability are all key considerations.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Risk Management Framework provides one example of how organizations are approaching these challenges. The voluntary framework was developed to help organizations manage AI-related risks while incorporating considerations of trustworthiness into the design, development, use, and evaluation of AI systems. NIST is currently revising the framework.

Federal policy provides another current example. A June 2026 White House executive order on AI innovation and security directed agencies to support access to AI-enabled cybersecurity tools for federal agencies, state and local authorities, and critical-infrastructure operators, including rural hospitals. The order illustrates how AI policy can intersect with cybersecurity, public administration, health care, and infrastructure management.

Rutgers students interested in these issues can pursue the AI Governance and Policy Certificate through the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA). The nine-credit graduate certificate focuses on AI and digital systems in public and nonprofit organizations, including AI regulation and compliance.

The certificate can also connect with Rutgers’ online Master of Public Administration; eligible electives may be applied toward the AI Governance and Policy certificate.

Where AI in Healthcare and Public Policy Intersect

Health care is one of the clearest examples of where AI innovation and AI governance come together.

An AI tool may be able to analyze medical images, assist clinicians, or identify patterns in patient data, but healthcare organizations still have to decide whether it can be used safely, effectively, and responsibly. That means questions about privacy, transparency, accuracy, bias, accountability, and ongoing monitoring become part of the implementation process.

The FDA’s work on generative AI-enabled medical devices illustrates that overlap. As new AI capabilities enter healthcare, regulators are considering how risk assessment, pre-market review, and post-market monitoring should apply to tools that may behave differently from traditional medical software.

At the same time, policymakers need enough technical knowledge to evaluate how AI systems work in practice, while healthcare professionals need to understand the regulatory and ethical standards that shape their use. Decisions about data governance, algorithmic performance, transparency, and oversight can affect both patient outcomes and public confidence.

Professionals who can navigate both sides of that equation can help bridge the gap between technical teams, clinicians, administrators, policymakers, regulators, and the communities affected by AI.

Building Skills for an AI-Driven Future

You do not have to be an AI developer to work effectively with artificial intelligence. Organizations increasingly need professionals who understand how AI is used, where it can add value, what its limitations are, and how to evaluate it before it is put into practice.

The impact of AI on work is already becoming significant. A 2025 analysis from the International Labour Organization found that one in four workers worldwide is in an occupation with some degree of exposure to generative AI, while concluding that most affected jobs are more likely to be transformed than eliminated because human involvement remains necessary.

That transformation is also changing the skills employers value. An August 2026 ILO report on skills in the age of AI found growing demand for AI literacy, digital and data skills, higher-order cognitive skills, adaptability, and human judgment.

For professionals in healthcare and public service, that can mean learning how to interpret data, evaluate AI-supported tools, assess organizational risk, develop governance policies, and make informed decisions about when and how AI should be used.

Advance Your AI Knowledge With Rutgers Online

As AI continues to reshape healthcare and public policy, Rutgers offers online learning options that can help you understand how these technologies are applied, evaluated, and governed.

If your interests are centered on healthcare, the Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Certificate can help you explore AI and data science applications across clinical and public healthcare environments.

If you are more interested in the policy and governance side of AI, Rutgers’ online Master of Public Administration can help you strengthen your expertise in public-sector leadership and decision-making, with eligible coursework that can be applied toward the AI Governance and Policy graduate certificate.