AORN Releases New Evidence-Based Guideline for Safe and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Care

Denver, Co. (June 17, 2026) – 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.

Not a Replacement for Human Care

The guideline recommends organizations establish governance frameworks for evaluating and monitoring AI-enabled technologies and emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration during implementation. Interdisciplinary teams may include perioperative nurses, surgeons, anesthesia professionals, IT specialists, and data science experts.

The guideline also emphasizes the importance of education and competency verification for perioperative personnel interacting with AI-enabled technologies, as well as organizational readiness before integrating these tools into clinical workflows.

AORN Senior Director of Evidence-Based Practice Dr. Lisa Spruce said perioperative nurses and teams will need education on the AI-enabled technologies they use in clinical settings, including how each tool is intended to be used and where its limitations may be.

"It's not replacing the human care that we give our patients," said Dr. Spruce. "AI should be seen as a tool or a piece of software. It's not something that we would rely on for replacing our judgment."

About AORN

Founded in 1949, AORN supports more than 200,000 perioperative nurses with evidence-based research, education, standards, and resources to enable optimal outcomes and promote safe surgery for every patient, every time.

For more information, visit aorn.org.