With an increasing number of healthcare organizations embracing AI tools, many healthcare groups are calling for federal oversight of the technology that would balance innovation with patient safety and data integrity, Politico reported May 15.
Representative Ami Bera, D-Calif., a member of the House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, spearheaded an initiative to gather insights from healthcare leaders regarding AI policy. Here, various groups representing physicians, medical device manufacturers, technology developers, hospitals, insurers and others expressed their perspectives on AI regulation.
The responses from this initiative were obtained by Politico. Here are the key points highlighted by these advocates:
1. Risk-based regulation: Many advocacy groups, including the Consumer Technology Association and the American Health Insurance Plans, advocated for a risk-based regulatory framework. They argue that AI systems used in critical healthcare scenarios should undergo more federal scrutiny compared to those utilized for administrative tasks like claim processing. AHIP also warned against overly restrictive policies, and emphasized the need to differentiate between high-risk and low-risk AI applications to foster innovation while safeguarding patient care.
2. Transparency concerns: While transparency in AI algorithms is deemed essential for understanding decision-making processes, there's skepticism about mandated transparency requirements. Groups like the American Health Information Management Association and the Federation of American Hospitals said that it is important to preserve intellectual property rights and avoid unnecessary burdens on AI developers. Healthcare Leadership Council also said that divulging proprietary information could hinder innovation without significant benefits.
3. Payment frameworks: The absence of a comprehensive reimbursement framework for AI technologies poses a challenge. The Consumer Technology Association said that current Medicare reimbursement policies often exclude many AI models, limiting their widespread adoption. AdvaMed suggests that while Medicare possesses the authority to reimburse AI technologies, regulatory clarity is essential for equitable payment across diverse AI applications.
4. FDA guidelines: Several groups, including the American Hospital Association, are advocating for using existing FDA regulations to govern software such as medical devices as a foundation for AI oversight.
5. Liability: The American Medical Association said that it is important to hold tech companies accountable for their data practices. Additionally, the group said that there needs to be clear guidelines on data ownership and liability in AI-driven healthcare.