Striking a Balance: Innovation, Equity, and Consistency in AI Health Technologies

AbstractWith the explosion of innovation driven by generative and traditional artificial intelligence (AI), comes the necessity to understand and regulate products that often defy current regulatory classification. Tradition, and lack of regulatory expediency, imposes the notion of force-...

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Main Authors: Eric Perakslis, Kimberly Nolen, Ethan Fricklas, Tracy Tubb
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-04-01
Series:JMIR AI
Online Access:https://ai.jmir.org/2025/1/e57421
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author Eric Perakslis
Kimberly Nolen
Ethan Fricklas
Tracy Tubb
author_facet Eric Perakslis
Kimberly Nolen
Ethan Fricklas
Tracy Tubb
author_sort Eric Perakslis
collection DOAJ
description AbstractWith the explosion of innovation driven by generative and traditional artificial intelligence (AI), comes the necessity to understand and regulate products that often defy current regulatory classification. Tradition, and lack of regulatory expediency, imposes the notion of force-fitting novel innovations into pre-existing product classifications or into the essentially unregulated domains of wellness or consumer electronics. Further, regulatory requirements, levels of risk tolerance, and capabilities vary greatly across the spectrum of technology innovators. For example, currently unregulated information and consumer electronic suppliers set their own editorial and communication standards without extensive federal regulation. However, industries like biopharma companies are held to a higher standard in the same space, given current direct-to-consumer regulations like the Sunshine Act (also known as Open Payments), the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act, and others. Clear and well-defined regulations not only reduce ambiguity but facilitate scale, showcasing the importance of regulatory clarity in fostering innovation and growth. To avoid highly regulated industries like health care and biopharma from being discouraged from developing AI to improve patient care, there is a need for a specialized framework to establish regulatory evidence for AI-based medical solutions. In this paper, we review the current regulatory environment considering current innovations but also pre-existing legal and regulatory responsibilities of the biopharma industry and propose a novel, hybridized approach for the assessment of novel AI-based patient solutions. Further, we will elaborate the proposed concepts via case studies. This paper explores the challenges posed by the current regulatory environment, emphasizing the need for a specialized framework for AI medical devices. By reviewing existing regulations and proposing a hybridized approach, we aim to ensure that the potential of AI in biopharmaceutical innovation is not hindered by uneven regulatory landscapes.
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spelling doaj-art-e76cd50c7d1048d18c16f9fc0ec2fc272025-08-20T03:15:31ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR AI2817-17052025-04-014e57421e5742110.2196/57421Striking a Balance: Innovation, Equity, and Consistency in AI Health TechnologiesEric Perakslishttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-2395-810XKimberly Nolenhttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-8821-254XEthan Fricklashttp://orcid.org/0009-0009-4337-038XTracy Tubbhttp://orcid.org/0009-0003-7441-9744 AbstractWith the explosion of innovation driven by generative and traditional artificial intelligence (AI), comes the necessity to understand and regulate products that often defy current regulatory classification. Tradition, and lack of regulatory expediency, imposes the notion of force-fitting novel innovations into pre-existing product classifications or into the essentially unregulated domains of wellness or consumer electronics. Further, regulatory requirements, levels of risk tolerance, and capabilities vary greatly across the spectrum of technology innovators. For example, currently unregulated information and consumer electronic suppliers set their own editorial and communication standards without extensive federal regulation. However, industries like biopharma companies are held to a higher standard in the same space, given current direct-to-consumer regulations like the Sunshine Act (also known as Open Payments), the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act, and others. Clear and well-defined regulations not only reduce ambiguity but facilitate scale, showcasing the importance of regulatory clarity in fostering innovation and growth. To avoid highly regulated industries like health care and biopharma from being discouraged from developing AI to improve patient care, there is a need for a specialized framework to establish regulatory evidence for AI-based medical solutions. In this paper, we review the current regulatory environment considering current innovations but also pre-existing legal and regulatory responsibilities of the biopharma industry and propose a novel, hybridized approach for the assessment of novel AI-based patient solutions. Further, we will elaborate the proposed concepts via case studies. This paper explores the challenges posed by the current regulatory environment, emphasizing the need for a specialized framework for AI medical devices. By reviewing existing regulations and proposing a hybridized approach, we aim to ensure that the potential of AI in biopharmaceutical innovation is not hindered by uneven regulatory landscapes.https://ai.jmir.org/2025/1/e57421
spellingShingle Eric Perakslis
Kimberly Nolen
Ethan Fricklas
Tracy Tubb
Striking a Balance: Innovation, Equity, and Consistency in AI Health Technologies
JMIR AI
title Striking a Balance: Innovation, Equity, and Consistency in AI Health Technologies
title_full Striking a Balance: Innovation, Equity, and Consistency in AI Health Technologies
title_fullStr Striking a Balance: Innovation, Equity, and Consistency in AI Health Technologies
title_full_unstemmed Striking a Balance: Innovation, Equity, and Consistency in AI Health Technologies
title_short Striking a Balance: Innovation, Equity, and Consistency in AI Health Technologies
title_sort striking a balance innovation equity and consistency in ai health technologies
url https://ai.jmir.org/2025/1/e57421
work_keys_str_mv AT ericperakslis strikingabalanceinnovationequityandconsistencyinaihealthtechnologies
AT kimberlynolen strikingabalanceinnovationequityandconsistencyinaihealthtechnologies
AT ethanfricklas strikingabalanceinnovationequityandconsistencyinaihealthtechnologies
AT tracytubb strikingabalanceinnovationequityandconsistencyinaihealthtechnologies