Association of periOperative Registered Nurses Releases New Evidence-Based Guideline for Safe and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Care
Publish Date: 2026-06-26 08:30:00
Source Domain: www.prnewswire.com
DENVER, June 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent in operating rooms and healthcare settings, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) released a new guideline to help perioperative teams evaluate, integrate, and safely use emerging and existing AI technologies in surgical care.
The new evidence-based AORN Guideline for Integration of Artificial Intelligence provides recommendations for how healthcare organizations and perioperative teams can evaluate, implement, and manage AI-enabled technologies while addressing patient safety, governance, bias, privacy and security, education, and clinical oversight.
The guideline is intended to help perioperative teams safely and ethically evaluate, implement, and manage these technologies throughout their lifecycle of use.
AI-enabled technologies are already being used across perioperative settings for documentation, medication alerts, preoperative assessments, clinical decision support, resource utilization, and visual data analysis such as ultrasounds and X-rays.
The guideline also reinforces how AI is intended to support clinical judgment and patient care—not replace them—and establishes parameters that align technology with human judgment and evidence-based practice.
“AI is moving at light speed, and healthcare organizations need guardrails that protect both the patient receiving care and the nurse delivering care,” said AORN CEO and Executive Director David Wyatt, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNOR, FAORN, FAAN. “This guideline reflects AORN’s commitment to helping perioperative teams and interdisciplinary partners navigate these technologies responsibly as they continue to evolve.”
Dr. Wyatt said AORN is also evolving its guideline development process to support more frequent updates, helping ensure guidance on rapidly changing topics such as AI remains current as the technology advances.
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