The Reality of AI Use in Public Health Today
According to the National Association of Counties (NACo), 60% of county officials reported using AI at least monthly for work in 2023-2024. This aligns with what we’ve found in our own research at Flourish and Thrive Labs, where we’ve conducted over 50 conversations with health departments and completed a survey on generative AI use in local health departments this year.
Public health professionals are using AI daily to draft reports, create social media content, compose emails, simplify complex regulatory language, translate materials, and analyze data. Your staff are using AI, period. It’s essential to figure out how they can do it within a framework that protects your department and the communities you serve.
Why AI Policies Matter in Public Health
A clear AI policy provides essential guidance for your organization
Protection of Sensitive Information
Clear guidelines help prevent staff from inadvertently sharing protected health information with external AI tools.
Clarity Supports Innovation
When staff understand what’s permitted, they can innovate confidently within appropriate boundaries.
Legal and Ethical Compliance
A thoughtful policy helps ensure your department’s AI use aligns with legal obligations and ethical commitments.
Consistent Application
A policy ensures consistent approaches to AI across all divisions within your department.
The Problem with No Policy
Many organizations have chosen not to implement an AI policy, and by default, they are asking their staff not to use AI. However, people see AI as a clear way to help them do their work. Without guidance, staff will use AI tools anyway—creating potential security risks and inconsistent practices.
The Elements of an Effective AI Policy
As leaders in the AI public health space, we’ve developed expertise in AI policy development through our work with health departments nationwide and our own experiences in public health leadership roles, including as CIO of a large health department. Our informatics background gives us unique insights into how AI intersects with public health systems and workflows.
Through this work, we’ve identified 12 essential components for a comprehensive AI policy:
- Scope and Coverage: Who does the policy apply to? Does it include contractors and volunteers? What about temporary staff or external collaborators?
- Defining AI: What technologies fall under this policy? How are existing machine learning and AI tools being used in your organization? Does your definition include only generative AI like ChatGPT, or also tools like Canva that have AI components?
- Training Requirements: What education is needed before using AI? Check out our AI training programs for examples of effective training approaches for public health professionals.
- Approval Process: How are new AI tools vetted? Who in your organization evaluates AI tools for security, privacy, and ethical considerations?
- Access Procedures: How do staff request permission to use AI? Will different departments need different access levels?
- Permitted/Prohibited Uses: What boundaries exist? Which types of work can AI support? What information should never be entered into AI tools? Are there specific topics or content areas that should be off-limits?
- Data Safeguards: How is information protected? What are the guardrails around uploading PHI? What happens if protected information is accidentally shared with an AI system?
- Ethical Guidelines: How do you ensure fair and equitable use? What measures are in place to identify and address potential bias in AI outputs?
- Monitoring Practices: How do you track usage across the organization? What reporting mechanisms are in place?
- Policy Management: Who maintains the policy? How frequently is it reviewed and updated?
- Enforcement Approach: How are violations handled? What’s the balance between education and disciplinary action?
- Governance Framework: How is AI use overseen across the organization? Who has the big-picture view of how AI is transforming your operations?
Our Approach to AI Policy Development
At Flourish and Thrive Labs, we believe that AI policies shouldn’t be complicated, but they are incredibly important. We’ve developed a straightforward workshop approach to help health departments create effective policies:
We facilitate three one-hour sessions with your core team of 4-8 people representing IT, privacy/legal, programs, and leadership. In each session, we tackle several policy components through guided conversation.
Your team makes all the decisions about what makes sense for your organization. We guide the conversations, ask the right questions, and capture your decisions. We bring our combined expertise around generative AI and machine learning to the table, serving as guides to help you develop a policy that works for your specific context.
After these sessions, we draft the complete policy document based on your input. You review it, provide feedback, and we finalize it. The whole process typically takes 4-6 weeks.
Our Approach to AI Policy Development
At Flourish and Thrive Labs, we believe that AI policies shouldn’t be complicated, but they are incredibly important. We’ve developed a straightforward workshop approach to help health departments create effective policies.
We facilitate three one-hour sessions with your core team of 4-8 people representing IT, privacy/legal, programs, and leadership. In each session, we tackle several policy components through guided conversation.
Your team makes all the decisions about what makes sense for your organization. We guide the conversations, ask the right questions, and capture your decisions. We bring our combined expertise around generative AI and machine learning to the table, serving as guides to help you develop a policy that works for your specific context.
After these sessions, we draft the complete policy document based on your input. You review it, provide feedback, and we finalize it. The whole process typically takes 4-6 weeks.
The Path Forward
The integration of AI into public health isn’t slowing down. Departments that develop thoughtful policies now will be positioned to leverage these powerful tools safely and effectively, while providing their staff with clear guidance for innovation.
If you’d like to learn more about our approach to AI policy development or discuss your department’s specific needs, schedule a conversation with our team.