The government has launched a National Commission tasked with advising the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on how to re-write the regulatory rulebook on AI in healthcare, which will be published next year.
The UK National Commission on the Regulation of AI in Healthcare will bring in experts from big tech companies – like Google and Microsoft – as well as leading clinicians, researchers and patient advocates, to advise regulators on how to speed up access to the latest tech in a safe way.
In the meantime, the Commission will also look at accelerating access to AI assistants for doctors that help by taking notes, with regulatory uncertainty currently holding the tech back. Early tests of ‘Ambient Voice Technology’ shows that it has reduced admin to mean that more people could be seen in A&E and clinicians could spend more time focusing on patients.
The Commission will also help by providing regulatory clarity on various AI tools such as those for radiology and pathology, and remote monitoring systems to support virtual care of patients from their own homes – alerting staff to early signs of deterioration while helping people live independently.
Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “This Commission will ensure the UK leads the way in making these game-changing technologies available in the safest possible way, helping more of us to lead healthy, longer lives and supporting our NHS.”
The Commission, which will be chaired by Professor Alastair Denniston, practising NHS clinician and head of the UK’s Centre of Excellence in Regulatory Science in AI & Digital Health (CERSI-AI), and deputy chaired by the Patient Safety Commissioner Professor Henrietta Hughes, will guide the MHRA on how cutting-edge AI technologies can be safely and effectively integrated into everyday healthcare.
Supported by the Health Foundation as a research partner, the Commission will help shape this new rulebook, which will be published next year. This will help enable key commitments in the government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England and Life Sciences Sector Plan to transform the NHS for the benefit of patients, and drive economic growth in the UK’s life sciences sector.
