Medical board federation begins guidance on clinical AI with little or no doctor supervision

The Federation of State Medical Boards has brought medical groups, Anthropic and insurer Elevance Health into a 22-member workgroup to develop guidance on AI in medical practice. The group met behind closed doors in Washington, D.C., in early October 2026, according to STAT’s October 14 report. Its recommendations could eventually inform state legislation.

Participants include executives from the American Medical Association and American Hospital Association, alongside the AI developer and health insurer. Representatives from state governments also attended the Washington meeting, putting medical organizations, technology companies and state officials into the same process for developing the guidance.

The federation, known as FSMB, is a national organization that advocates for state medical boards. A spokesman said the workgroup’s composition was intended to bring several kinds of expertise into the drafting process:

was built to balance expertise across medical regulation, AI development, care delivery, academic medicine, state AI policy, and patient safety

An FSMB spokesman, describing the workgroup to STAT

Clinical work without direct supervision

FSMB President and CEO Humayun Chaudhry told STAT that the guidelines are intended to help local medical boards. He singled out AI tools that perform clinical functions with limited or no direct physician supervision.

That focus connects the effort to states’ existing responsibilities: states individually regulate medical licensure and the practice of medicine. The recommendations could become a basis for legislation, extending their potential reach beyond advice to medical boards.

A public draft comes next

The workgroup’s discussions remain confidential. Chaudhry said a draft could become public in weeks to months, and the federation said its recommendations would be open for feedback before formal adoption. That is a projected window for releasing a draft, not a date when new rules would take effect.

For now, the effort remains a guidance-development process: no rules have been adopted.