UK health regulators pledge collaboration on AI principles

A group of UK health and social care regulators has committed to developing a shared set of high-level principles to govern the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. The collaboration includes the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA), the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the General Medical Council (GMC), the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), and several other regulatory bodies.

The initiative aims to ensure that AI is used in a manner that is ‘safe, responsible and fair’ to protect patients while enabling technological benefits. The regulators intend to create consistent approaches that support professionals in using AI confidently and equitably.

This collaborative effort follows recommendations from the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare. The commission suggested that AI regulation should include staged authorisations and continuous monitoring to account for the rapid development and varying performance of AI models in different clinical settings.