UK Forms National Commission to Regulate AI in Health Care

The commission, made up of doctors, academics and regulatory experts, will consult with patients and technology firms such as Microsoft and Google to prepare a set of recommendations. According to Bloomberg, the group will report back to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and contribute to shaping a new regulatory framework scheduled for release in 2026. The body will be chaired by AI health-care specialist Alastair Denniston, with Patient Safety Commissioner Henrietta Hughes serving as deputy.

In an interview, MHRA Chief Executive Lawrence Tallon highlighted the urgency of reforming current medical-device rules, which were designed more than two decades ago. “No one yet really has figured out how to update their medical device regulation for the AI era,” he said. “Unless we can update that regulatory framework for AI, we will ultimately be slowing up the potential application.” Per Bloomberg, Tallon added that the UK’s approach would not simply replicate the European Union’s recently passed AI Act, which has been criticized by tech companies as overly restrictive.

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AI is already reshaping health care in the UK and abroad. From transcription tools that automatically record doctor-patient conversations, to diagnostic software analyzing radiology scans, to adaptive cardiac devices that respond to real-time changes in heart rhythms, the technology is becoming increasingly common. But the World Health Organization has cautioned that the rapid adoption of AI also brings risks, including data misuse, cybersecurity vulnerabilities and algorithmic bias.

Other jurisdictions have tried to find the right balance between innovation and oversight. According to Bloomberg, the EU’s AI Act has placed medical devices under stricter rules, while the UK is seeking a more tailored approach. Tallon emphasized that the UK’s framework would prioritize “clarity” and predictability for all stakeholders. “The problem we have at the moment is because we have a lack of clarity in the global regulation of AI, it’s quite hard for different parties to know what they need to do and what to expect,” he said.

The push comes as global competition for AI investment intensifies. The UK government has courted major players, securing multi-billion-dollar commitments from firms including Microsoft and OpenAI. While some companies may view new regulations as a burden, Tallon argued that clear rules could in fact strengthen confidence in AI’s role in health care. “Less regulation isn’t always the right answer because we must make sure that the AI that you use in health care has the confidence and trust of clinicians and patients,” he said, adding that businesses ultimately prefer a consistent and proportionate framework.

Source: Bloomberg