URAC Launches First AI Accreditation Program for Healthcare Users Developers

The program evaluates risk management, business management, and performance monitoring, with specific modules for each pathway.

Healthcare accreditation body URAC has introduced the nation’s first accreditation program for healthcare artificial intelligence, covering both users and developers. The program evaluates risk management, business management, and performance monitoring, with specific modules for each pathway.

“We think that this is a great opportunity to give people that seal of approval, that gold star, that someone independent has gone in behind the scenes and audited to make sure that this is trustworthy,” said Shawn Griffin, M.D., CEO and president of URAC.

The accreditations share common requirements such as regulatory compliance, consumer data protection, impact analyses, and staff management. To shape the framework, URAC convened an advisory group of insurance plans, providers, pharmacies, technology companies, and legal experts. Applications are anonymized and reviewed by an independent board to ensure impartiality.

“Nobody can buy our accreditation,” Griffin said. “You don't get it based on reputation. You get it based on your behavior.”

Standards for Developers and Health Systems

Developers seeking accreditation must submit information on data training, governance, pre-deployment testing, model drift management, and disclosure procedures. For users, including health systems and provider organizations, URAC requires plans detailing how AI will be tested, monitored, and applied responsibly for specific populations.

Griffin explained, saying, “Are we using tools in the right way, the way they're designed? Are we monitoring them, appropriate for the risk that it brings into the interaction? Are we informing the patients? Are we informing the providers, and do we have a plan on what if it goes wrong?”

While URAC applies the same principles across organizations, expectations vary by size and resources. “What we're going to say is, what is your governance structure? How are you vetting these tools? How are you rating these tools? And what's your oversight monitoring and your feedback loop? And that's not going to be dependent upon whether you have 27 full-time people,” Griffin said.

Addressing Gaps Amid Regulatory Shifts

Griffin noted that accreditation can adapt faster than regulation, with updates expected within months of launch to keep pace with evolving technology. Trust and safety issues can trigger immediate revisions.

He added that URAC accelerated the rollout due to the absence of federal oversight after the rescinding of the Biden administration’s executive order on responsible AI. “When the new administration came in, what happened was they said, 'OK, that rule is suspended,'” Griffin said.

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