A New Jersey health network now holds the first AI certification ever issued by the country’s dominant hospital accreditor. Hackensack Meridian Health received The Joint Commission’s Responsible Use of AI in Healthcare designation, a voluntary seal the accreditor launched in June.
The network said the designation, known as RUAIH, reflects an AI governance structure it has run since 2022, combining data security and privacy protections with formal evaluation and monitoring of AI tools. The Joint Commission assessed the system on governance, safeguards for patient safety and data, processes to reduce risk and bias in AI tools, monitoring, patient education and staff training.
Robert C. Garrett, Hackensack Meridian’s CEO, said AI can help clinicians detect disease earlier, personalize treatment and cut administrative burdens that drive burnout, but only when adopted responsibly across the network.
The designation follows guidance the accreditor issued in 2025 and feedback from more than 20 coalitions that help U.S. health systems deploy AI safely. Roughly 20,000 healthcare programs and organizations fall under its accreditation umbrella.
As hospitals race to deploy AI amid warnings about data quality and unproven tools, a first-mover seal from the country’s dominant accreditor gives other systems a concrete benchmark for governance, monitoring and transparency, and signals that responsible-use credentials are becoming a competitive differentiator.
