A group of doctors and data scientists is calling on hospitals to create clinical departments devoted to artificial intelligence to harness the power of the technology to transform patient care. While there have been many predictions of AI's potential to benefit health care delivery -- from helping doctors perform surgery to catching cancer earlier -- the technology's benefits so far have been blunted by inconsistent implementation, the researchers say. They outline a plan to make hospitals "AI ready," in a way they say would enhance both patient care and medical research. UVA Health's Dr. David J. Stone and colleagues from several other major medical centers outline their plan in "The Clinical Artificial Intelligence Department: A Prerequisite for Success," published in BMJ Health & Care Informatics. They begin by offering a frank assessment of the current integration of AI in health care: "The reality of the available evidence increasingly leaves little room for optimism," they write.