The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), along with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Health Research Authority (HRA) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have partnered to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health and care. The agencies are calling this initiative the “Multi-Agency Advisory Service for AI and data-driven technology”.

The project will be funded by the NHS AI Lab and NICE, CQC, HRA, and MHRA will work together with the aim of improving care quality for all by ensuring that the use of AI and other data-driven innovations meet high standards in safety, effectiveness and data governance. The Multi-Agency Advisory Service for AI will also address standards for individuals to get access in health and care by providing direction on regulation, evaluation and adoption.

The project will seek to make pathways easier to follow and set clearer expectations related to the challenges faced when developing, commissioning or adopting AI technologies. The Multi-Agency Advisory Service for AI will work together to research, develop and test a service, and will seek support and input from stakeholders and future service users.

The project expects to provide the service in two key areas:

  • Developers of AI and data-driven technologies use in health and social care; and
  • Adopters of AI and data-driven technologies,

each of whom may benefit from assistance with regulatory issues and are looking to gain knowledge to efficiently adopt and deploy the best AI and data-driven technologies related to health and care.

The best part is that the agencies are looking for organisations to get involved.  It’s possible to register to get involved in user research or testing.