America’s two major political parties agree on very little of late, but they have a mutual interest in working together toward overseeing AI.

Healthcare presents an especially unitive rallying point. This is evident in a legal analysis posted May 14 in the National Law Review. Authored by attorneys at the Nashville-based Polsinelli law firm, the piece drills into three early-stage AI initiatives gaining momentum in Washington.

Taken together, these efforts trace the contours of a “dedicated AI regulatory framework” in the making:

1. The Executive Branch’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. This document, posted by the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, has limited legal standing, the attorney-authors point out. However, it tips the White House’s hand on preferences and priorities where regulations concern AI in healthcare:  

“Many of the Blueprint’s problematic examples involve situations in which AI technology is used to deny coverage, limit care, or deliver care in a sub-optimal (and often discriminatory) manner. It is likely that the Blueprint will be consulted in developing regulations in the health space.”

2. The Department of Commerce’s AI Accountability Request for Comment. Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will use submitted comments to make formal recommendations on AI accountability policy as informed by the White House’s blueprint, the Polsinelli attorneys remind.  

“While the RFC still represents an early stage of policy development, it is important because it reflects the ongoing influence of the Blueprint. The RFC presents an important opportunity for developers or users of AI to ensure their perspective is heard at this early stage of AI policy development.”

3. Office of the National Coordinator’s HTI-1 Proposed Rule. As it stands, this proposed HHS rule references and integrates the Blueprint along with the 21st Century Cures Act, related Biden Administration executive orders and other policy communications, the authors note.

“Because the Proposed Rule modifies Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) requirements, it would affect not only developers of health IT modules that seek to obtain or retain certification but also the healthcare providers who use and rely on such technology to deliver healthcare services and receive reimbursement for such services.”

It is important for organizations contemplating the use of AI technology, or who may be affected by AI technology, to understand this developing regulatory framework, the authors advise. “Agencies are actively seeking comment on these policies,” the Polsinelli attorneys add, “so entities that may be affected—including healthcare providers, innovators, payors and advisors—have an important opportunity to shape the future of AI policy in healthcare.”

Expect immediate interparty contention over AI policy in Washington, but watch for eventual attempts at cooperation there and beyond.

Read the rest.

Buzzworthy developments of the past few days.

• Speaking of the nation’s capital, the intellectual property sentinel IPWatchdog.com notes this week is a frenetic one inside the beltway for AI stakeholders. In fact, the outlet has posted a calendar of events. It shows an AI-oversight meeting of the Senate Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law on Tuesday; a convening of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Wednesday (topic: “Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property: Part I—Interoperability of AI and Copyright Law”); a discussion at the Brookings Institution titled “AI, emerging technologies and the division of domestic labor” (also Wednesday); and more.
   
• A sizeable bank has scooped up a digital healthcare company that has expertise in electronic billing and collections. Eleven-state Fifth Third Bancorp (Cincinnati) announced the acquisition of Big Data Healthcare (Madison, Wisc.) May 15. The company’s primary product is a bank-neutral online portal that automates remittance reconciliation back to deposits. The bank’s head of commercial banking, Kevin Lavender, says Fifth Third is “deeply committed to bringing our solutions to healthcare clients.”
   
• A startup with some wherewithal is launching on the strength of a generative AI assistant for patients seeking info on provider quality and cost. The fledgling company, Cascade Health in Seattle, is also introducing a B2B offering for healthcare vendors looking to build digital products on data. Cascade has some capital for building both, as it’s raised $1.7 million in venture funding and angel investments. The company is billing its technology as an “intelligent platform for healthcare transparency.” Details here.
   
• Just days after unveiling a generative AI product for both clinical and administrative aims, DiagnaMed of Toronto is opening a new division. Called Health GenAI, the effort will use GPT-4 to launch at least three products this year. What all three will have in common is helping providers improve patient outcomes and operational efficiencies. Announcement.
   
• Healthy eating plans created by ChatGPT may offer some helpful dietary advice, but they’re not to be trusted without expert human oversight. So conclude researchers at Poznań University in Poland who tested the technology using 56 diets containing 14 food allergens and four levels of no-no’s common to folks with dietary restrictions. Criteria included not only safety and accuracy but also appeal to people who enjoy eating. (Isn’t that pretty much everyone?) It might be tempting to dismiss the technology as a potential robo-dietition, the researchers remark, but doing so would “undermine the benefits that robo-diets might provide, for example, to people with lower income or an aversion to consult health professionals.” Read the full study in Nutrition.
   
• Two companies with telehealth know-how are partnering to offer AI-powered virtual care. West-Com Nurse Call Systems (Fairfield, Calif.) and Vitalchat (Ashburn, Va.) say their combined product and service lines can boost patient safety as well as clinical collaboration while facilitating offsite family involvement. Announcement.
   
• Young adults increase their smartphone stare-time during forays into city parks and such—but significantly cut back when they chill out in the “true” great outdoors. The latter includes forests, nature reserves and the like. Researchers at the University of Vermont observed the dichotomy and had their findings published in Environment and Behavior. Journal study here, UVM coverage here.
   
• A hybrid human-AI system can get patients to follow through with physician recommendations. In the process it can increase provider revenue, boost patient safety and, by extension, improve outcomes. Researchers at UC-Irvine made the findings when they tested a natural language processing (NLP) tool as deployed with actively involved nurse coordinators. Journal study here, Health Imaging summary here.
   
• AI is finding a foothold in heart care. In fact, cardiology is second only to radiology in clinical algorithms bearing the FDA’s blessing. Get the full story from Cardiovascular Business.