UCLA Health has announced the launch of a center committed to the real-world evaluation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) safety and implementation practices in health care through rigorous testing and innovative research.
The program, known as the Innovations and Outcomes Validation of AI (INOVAi) Center, speaks to the rapidly evolving landscape and the increasing impact of AI on the fields of medicine and education.
“This new center will help address one of the most important gaps in health care AI – knowing whether these tools are safe, effective and useful in real-world clinical practice,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and CEO of the UCLA Hospital System. “By rigorously evaluating AI tools across the settings where patients actually receive care, we can help ensure this technology strengthens clinical practice and works reliably for all patients.”
Among the first programs in the nation focused specifically on the evaluation and implementation science of AI in health care, the center will support the evaluation of AI across the full lifecycle – from early usability, feasibility and workflow testing to prospective clinical trials and pragmatic implementation studies.
“INOVAi represents an important Center of Excellence in AI evaluation and implementation science, and an integral part of UCLA’s broader institutional approach to responsible health AI,” said Dr. Steven Dubinett, dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM). “In collaboration with the UCLA Center for AI & SMART Health and in alignment with Dr. Katherine Andriole’s role as associate dean for Health AI Strategy and Innovation, INOVAi will help strengthen a coordinated ecosystem for AI innovation that is rigorous, ethical, evidence-based and focused on improving health.”
With the expansion of AI tools across clinical settings nationwide – from computerized scribes that draft notes during patient visits to diagnostic processes that aid physicians in the interpretation of X-rays and MRIs – UCLA Health and DGSOM have recognized the emerging need for a center that can serve as an innovation hub for AI technologies. The aim is to bridge the gap between development and large-scale implementation using evaluation processes that refine AI models.
“As AI continues to transform the way we deliver high-quality care to our patients and their families, our responsibility to approach it thoughtfully is important now more than ever, and the clinical validation work that INOVAi performs is essential,” said Katherine P. Andriole, the medical school’s associate dean for Health AI Strategy and Innovation and director of the UCLA Center for AI & SMART Health.
A pioneering randomized trial led by Dr. Paul Lukac, UCLA Health’s chief AI officer, and Dr. John Mafi, associate professor of medicine – co-directors of INOVAi – found that AI scribes significantly reduced the time physicians spent writing clinical notes, while also revealing improvements in physician cognitive load, work exhaustion and overall well-being. Additionally, physicians reported enhanced patient engagement through greater connectivity between them and their patients.
"The results of our research on AI's capacity to improve clinical workflow and enhance patient care have been promising thus far," said Lukac. "While there still is considerable work to be done, our new program has the potential to further hone the discipline the field needs as we continue to build a shared language for what counts as evidence."
INOVAi is managed through the UCLA Department of Medicine as a focused Center of Excellence in AI evaluation and implementation science, operating in alignment with the UCLA Center for AI and SMART Health, and UCLA Health’s broader strategic planning for responsible health AI.
