Journal of Medical Regulation Explores Challenges AI Presents for Medical Regulators
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 2, 2026) – The latest issue of the Journal of Medical Regulation (JMR) explores the challenges the rapid emergence of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare present for medical regulators.
“In healthcare, AI technology is becoming increasingly important in operational efficiency, diagnostic performance, and patient management,” said JMR Editor-in-Chief Mark Bechtel, MD, in his introduction to the new issue. “AI will become the dominant challenge in healthcare regulation over the next decade. Protecting the public with appropriate patient safeguards while not inhibiting technology growth and innovation will be the major challenge that medical regulation will face.”
In an original research article, “Principles-based Approach to Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Professional Work: Perspectives of Health Professionals’ Regulators,” Paul Gregory and Zubin Austin examine perspectives from regulators in the U.S., Canada and the UK on whether and how regulatory tools should be used in the oversight of AI, including the importance of “human-in-the loop AI” and “human-out-of-the-loop AI.”
In an accompanying commentary, “The Wicked Problem of Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Health Professionals’ Work: Whose Job is it Anyway?”, Austin and Gregory discuss competing perspectives on what role health professional regulators should have in managing AI.
In other articles in the new issue:
Applications for licensing by state medical boards often include questions about existing complaints and investigations – creating concern such questions may have unintended consequences for fairness, due process, and physician mobility. In an original research article, “State Medical Boards’ Difficult Balance: Patient Safety vs. Provider Safeguards,” Michelle Benoit, Katherine O’Hanlan, and Maxwell Mar examine primary licensure applications from 50 U.S. states, two U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. The authors conclude that questions about investigations and complaints are unlikely to identify moral or quality issues and may cause professional or personal harm to the applicants and licensees.
Physician Associates may face licensing and workforce barriers that impede their ability to practice in various states. In a commentary, “If Not You, Then Who? Reflections on Legislative Advocacy and Licensing Barriers as a Physician Associate,” Echo Kopplin discusses the transformative power of sustained relationship-based advocacy. The author discusses how a dedicated commitment to professional advocacy contributed to the successful passage of a 2025 Physician Associate Practice Modernization Bill in South Dakota.
About the Journal of Medical Regulation
A quarterly, peer-reviewed publication, the Journal of Medical Regulation has been published continuously since 1913 by the Federation of State Medical Boards. The journal examines trends and topics of interest to the global community of medical regulators who protect the public’s health and safety through the licensing and disciplining of physicians and other healthcare professionals. Visit the JMR website at www.JMRonline.org.
About the Federation of State Medical Boards:
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national non-profit organization representing the medical boards within the United States and its territories that license and discipline allopathic and osteopathic physicians and, in some jurisdictions, other healthcare professionals. FSMB serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality healthcare and regulatory best practices. FSMB serves the public through Docinfo.org, a free physician search tool which provides background information on the more than 1 million doctors in the United States. To learn more about FSMB, visit www.fsmb.org.