JAMA+ AI Conversations AI, Health, and Health Care
Oct 13, 2025
Derek Angus, MD, MPH, a Senior Editor at JAMA and a leading expert on AI in healthcare, joins Roy Perlis to explore AI's transformative potential in medical settings. They discuss the delicate balance between the excitement for AI advancements and necessary caution regarding regulation and evaluation. Angus highlights the need for innovative methods to assess AI tools, the pitfalls of rapid adoption of inadequately tested technologies, and the importance of operational AI in improving patient outcomes. The conversation provides crucial insights into the future of AI in health.
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What 'Effectiveness' Really Means
- Effectiveness should mean improving patient outcomes or clearly improving operations without worsening care.
- Derek Angus emphasizes we lack a common, fit-for-purpose definition across stakeholders.
Two Competing Standards For Effectiveness
- Stakeholders disagree whether effectiveness is technical reliability or causal patient benefit.
- Angus highlights a tension between 'does the code do its job' and 'does it improve outcomes'.
Why Ambient Scribes Took Off
- Ambient AI scribe tools rapidly spread because they solve clinician pain points like documentation burden.
- Angus describes a microphone-record-and-summarize workflow that feels seductive to clinicians.