New Texas Law Permits Use of AI in Health Care

Texas has officially passed legislation that allows the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care. In a landmark move, Texas has of...

Texas has officially passed legislation that allows the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care.

In a landmark move, Texas has officially passed legislation that allows the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care decision-making and service delivery. The new law, which went into effect in July 2025, is designed to streamline clinical workflows, reduce medical errors, and enhance access to quality care—especially in underserved areas.

What the Law Enables

The legislation provides a legal framework for hospitals, clinics, and telemedicine providers to integrate AI-based tools in diagnostics, treatment recommendations, patient triage, and administrative operations. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, AI systems must meet stringent transparency, explainability, and patient-consent standards before deployment.

AI platforms such as IBM Watson Health and newer LLM-powered assistants are already being piloted in select medical centers across Houston and Dallas. These systems can assist physicians by quickly analyzing medical histories, identifying possible diagnoses, and flagging anomalies in imaging scans with higher precision than traditional tools.

IBM Watson Health and newer LLM-powered assistants are already being piloted in selected medical centers across Houston and Dallas.

One of the key drivers behind the bill is the state’s ongoing effort to improve health care access in rural areas. With doctor shortages and limited specialist availability in many counties, AI can help bridge the gap by offering near real-time support to local care providers via cloud-based systems.

Emergency departments are also expected to benefit. AI-powered triage systems can help hospitals prioritize patients based on urgency and available resources—reducing wait times and improving survival outcomes during high-pressure situations.

Ethical and Privacy Safeguards

While the law permits AI deployment, it comes with robust guardrails. All AI-based health interventions must be explainable to patients, auditable by regulators, and supervised by licensed human professionals. The law also aligns with federal HIPAA regulations and mandates strict data privacy protocols, including encryption and consent-based data use.

Critics, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), have urged Texas lawmakers to closely monitor how AI systems are trained and evaluated—particularly regarding potential bias and health disparities among marginalized groups.

The integration of AI into clinical workflows is expected to reshape the health care job market. While some worry about automation displacing human roles, supporters of the law argue that AI will augment rather than replace clinicians, freeing them from administrative burdens and enabling more time for direct patient care.

The law includes provisions for funding continuing education for health professionals, ensuring they are equipped to work alongside AI systems. Universities and medical schools in Texas are also updating their curricula to include AI literacy as part of core training.

In conjunction with the new law, the Texas legislature approved a $100 million innovation fund to support startups and hospitals developing ethical AI tools for health care. These funds will be distributed through competitive grants focused on equity, accessibility, and patient outcomes.

“This investment is not just about technology—it’s about the people it serves,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “We want to ensure that every Texan, regardless of location or income, benefits from the promise of AI in health care.”

Public opinion on the law is divided. A recent poll conducted by the University of Texas Health Policy Center found that 58% of Texans support AI in medicine if it remains under physician supervision, while 29% expressed concerns over data privacy and system errors.

In response, health care providers are ramping up transparency efforts, including publishing performance reports of AI systems, offering patients opt-out choices, and expanding informed consent processes to explicitly mention AI involvement.

As Texas becomes one of the first U.S. states to legislate AI in health care directly, the outcomes of this law will be closely watched by policymakers nationwide. Success here could set a precedent for AI integration across other critical sectors like elder care, mental health, and public health surveillance.

Meanwhile, health tech companies, hospital systems, and AI researchers are mobilizing to align with Texas’s new regulations, eyeing this opportunity to showcase safe, scalable, and equitable AI applications in medicine.