The development of artificial intelligence in healthcare continues to pace ahead of the industry's ability to regulate the technology.
Over the past year, large tech firms partnered with providers and digital health companies to implement healthcare-focused AI at speeds rarely found in the industry. But outside of a few states passing specific health AI bills, legislators have not kept up with development leading the industry to regulate itself. Most experts say comprehensive federal policy that would regulate healthcare AI remains unlikely in 2025, but there will be a lot of activity at the state level and through industry groups.
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“I think you will probably see more states try to regulate AI," said Jennifer Geetter, partner at law firm McDermott Will & Emery. "I think though, they are taking disparate approaches."
What happened in 2024 for health AI legislation?
Most industry stakeholders and lawmakers say federal legislation is necessary, but Congress doesn't appear close on passing any bills. On the federal level, there was a lot of talk and little action on comprehensive healthcare AI legislation in 2024. Lawmakers held hearings on the topic while hailing the potential of AI. Still there are questions over what they should do and how far they should go with legislation.