Governance for safe and responsible AI in healthcare organisations: a scoping review of frameworks (1 May 2026)

Summary

This scoping review synthesises current evidence on artificial intelligence (AI) governance in healthcare organisations, outlining key components of AI governance frameworks.

Seventy-seven frameworks were identified and examined for four components: (1) Guiding principles (ethics or governance-related); (2) Assessment methods; (3) AI lifecycle stages; and (4) Oversight mechanisms.

Most frameworks were not applicable to real-world healthcare settings and missed key principles or components, such as an oversight mechanism. Only 10 frameworks (13.0%) included all four framework components, with oversight mechanisms (e.g. AI-specific governance committee) being the least common.

There is a need to move beyond principles to implementing AI governance frameworks in healthcare organisations and evaluating their real-world impact.