A joint step towards safe AI in healthcare
On 8 July 2026, the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Czech Association for Artificial Intelligence (ČAUI), the Czech Medical Association of J. E. Purkyně (ČLS JEP), and the Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education (IPVZ). The memorandum establishes a framework for cooperation among government institutions, professional societies, educational institutions, and the technology sector to support the implementation of certified artificial intelligence (AI) tools in clinical practice.
The cooperation focuses on developing professional recommendations and methodological guidelines, supporting pilot projects, validating the quality and safety of AI tools, educating healthcare professionals, and strengthening international collaboration, including initiatives under the EU4Health programme.
The memorandum was developed with a significant contribution from the Czech Society for Artificial Intelligence and Innovative Digital Technologies in Medicine of the Czech Medical Association of J. E. Purkyně (ČSAIM). The Society is chaired doc. Ondřej Volný, MD, PhD, FESO, Head of the Department of Artificial Intelligence, Digitalization and Innovative Technologies at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, who also serves as Advisor to the Minister of Health for Artificial Intelligence.
„The memorandum is the outcome of a long-term effort to build a collaborative ecosystem in which our Department and ČSAIM have played an active role. It brings together academia, professional societies, patient organisations, the Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education, and public administration. The memorandum also builds on the Ministry's Strategy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, for which I serve as the lead author of the Science and Research chapter, as well as on the Patient Guide to Artificial Intelligence jointly prepared by ČSAIM and the Ministry of Health,“, said doc. Volný.
The Department of Artificial Intelligence, Digitalization and Innovative Technologies at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava—the first department of its kind established at a medical faculty in the Czech Republic—is engaged not only in AI research and the implementation of AI in clinical practice but also in the education of medical students at faculties of medicine in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia (see a sample of our teaching).
The full press release issued by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic is available here.
Updated: 20. 07. 2026
