STAT+: Lobbyists and trade groups fight to shape how states regulate medical AI
Lobbying groups for doctors and hospitals and trade groups are working behind the scenes on how to regulate AI in medicine.
In early October, influential lobbying groups representing doctors and hospitals, a health insurer, technology companies, and representatives from state governments convened in a closed-door meeting in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this assembly was to craft guidelines for the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) within the medical field.
Notable participants included executives from the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association, as well as representatives from AI powerhouse Anthropic and insurer Elevance Health. This 22-member AI workgroup, established by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), aimed to strike a balance among various stakeholder perspectives, including medical regulation, AI development, care delivery, academic medicine, state AI policy, and patient safety.
Although the discussions within workgroup meetings remained confidential, the overarching objective was to formulate guidelines that would assist local medical boards, with particular emphasis on AI tools performing clinical functions under limited or no direct physician supervision. Humayun Chaudhry, FSMB's president and CEO, revealed to STAT that a draft of the recommendations might be made available to the public within "weeks to months," potentially serving as the foundation for state legislation governing medical licensure and practice.
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