New white paper urges policymakers to modernize practice laws to unlock AI’s full potential in healthcare

HealthFORCE, AAPA, and West Health release second report in groundbreaking series on AI and the healthcare workforce

2025-10-20

(Press-News.org) Alexandria, Va. – October 20, 2025 — As the U.S. confronts a historic healthcare workforce crisis, a new white paper released today calls on federal and state policymakers to modernize outdated laws, regulations, and payment systems in order to harness the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in care delivery.

Titled “Aging Well with AI: Transforming Care Delivery,” the report was commissioned by HealthFORCE, in collaboration with the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) and West Health, and developed by The LINUS Group. It is the second in a two-part series examining how AI can support care teams, expand access, and ease the growing strain on America’s healthcare system.

“America’s healthcare system is not built for the future. We can’t just innovate around broken infrastructure—we need to modernize it,” said Lisa M. Gables, CEO of AAPA and founder of HealthFORCE. “This paper makes clear that AI alone won’t fix workforce shortages, but with policy reform, it can dramatically ease the burden and bring care to more people.”

With a projected shortfall of 3.2 million healthcare workers by 2026 and an aging population whose care needs are becoming more complex, the U.S. is facing a compounding access and workforce crisis.

The paper highlights the promise offered by AI tools to address these challenges. Some of the promising tools on the horizon include ambient documentation that reduces time spent on charts, virtual care coordination systems that streamline referrals and follow-ups, and personalized clinical education that helps providers stay current in a fast-evolving field. Such innovations are already proving their impact in pilot programs across the country.

The paper proposes a Risk/Impact Matrix to guide adoption and policy prioritization. Use cases that rank low risk, and high impact should be accelerated first, including:

Ambient AI Scribes: Freeing clinicians from redundant charting to focus more on patients. AI-Supported Care Coordination: Reducing duplicative tests and missed referrals through smart triage and automated workflows. On-Demand Clinical Training: Empowering providers to stay current with AI-enhanced continuing education tailored to evolving roles. High-impact but more complex use cases, like AI-assisted diagnostics and at-home monitoring for vulnerable patients, are also discussed as future-critical innovations.|

Critically, the paper acknowledges that even the most promising tools will stall if providers are still bound by outdated supervision requirements, restricted from using digital platforms independently, or reimbursed based on outdated models that reward documentation over outcomes. The report outlines specific policy developments needed to enable scalable integration of AI in care delivery:

Modernize Practice Laws: Update state and federal laws to allow providers—especially PAs and NPs—to practice to the full extent of their training, enabling broader use of AI in clinical care, care coordination, and home-based models. Shift Payment Models: Move away from volume-based reimbursement and instead incentivize continuity, outcomes, and technology-enabled care. Streamline Documentation Requirements: Align federal billing rules with the capabilities of AI-powered systems to reduce unnecessary administrative burden. Establish National AI Standards: Develop cross-cutting safety, equity, and interoperability frameworks to guide the responsible deployment of AI tools across all care settings. “Breakthroughs in discovery won’t transform care if we don’t invest in the infrastructure to deliver them, “AI is a powerful tool driving operational innovation – helping us streamline workflows, coordinate care, and extend capacity – but without modern systems and policies, its potential will remain untapped.”

Together, the two reports in the Aging Well with AI series make a compelling case: AI can help solve the workforce crisis, but only if we solve the policy crisis first.

Find the latest report here.

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Media Contact: Jenni Roberson, 703.380.2764

About the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA)
AAPA is the national membership organization for all physician associates/physician assistants (PAs). PAs are licensed clinicians who practice medicine in every specialty and setting. Trusted, rigorously educated and trained healthcare professionals, PAs are dedicated to expanding access to care and transforming health and wellness through patient-centered, team-based medical practice. Learn more about the profession at aapa.org and engage through Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.

About HealthFORCE
HealthFORCE is a national alliance of leaders dedicated to addressing the root causes of our nation’s healthcare workforce crisis. Our founding members include healthcare providers, administrators, and technicians; industry leaders; advocates; educators and community-based leaders united in our mission of rebuilding, expanding, and diversifying the U.S. healthcare workforce. Learn more at healthforce.org

About West Health
Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations that include the Gary and Mary West Foundation and Gary and Mary West Health Institute in San Diego and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. West Health is dedicated to lowering healthcare costs to enable seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality and affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence. Learn more at westhealth.org.

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