PROBING AI IN HEALTH — Health care executives will praise the use of artificial intelligence in the industry before Congress today — but the hearing is unlikely to move the needle on regulation, Chelsea reports. But, the American Medical Association has tapped the brakes, recently issuing its principles for AI use in health care, calling for certain regulations such as reduced liability for doctors if AI leads them astray. And the hearing comes a month after the Biden administration began to prod at the issue in a broad executive order on AI, directing HHS to develop a framework for the responsible use of AI. The hearing is the fourth this fall by the committee on AI but the first focused solely on its use in health; other hearings have explored AI in energy and telecommunications. Why it matters: Some providers already use AI in their practices, patients aren’t sure what to think about it and Congress has yet to make progress on policy around it. However, today’s House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing will more likely be a fact-finding mission. “This hearing will give our members a chance to hear from experts and those in the field about how AI is currently being used, as well as what guardrails, like a national data privacy standard, are needed to protect people’s privacy,” E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Health Subcommittee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) said in a statement. Witnesses include executives from HCA Healthcare, which started using AI in its facilities this year; Transcarent, which operates an app to help patients find providers and medication; and Siemens Healthineers, which provides AI workflow applications to providers — all of which will paint a relatively optimistic view of AI in health care as a tool for innovation, according to witness statements provided to the committee. Other witnesses include providers from UC San Diego Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who will also likely extol the power of AI to potentially reduce clinician workforce burnout and improve health care outcomes, but also caution against letting the technologies go unregulated. “AI to improve medical diagnosis poses significant risks but also presents uniquely large opportunities for positive impact,” Dr. David Newman-Toker, director of the division of neuro-visual and vestibular disorders in Johns Hopkins Medicine’s neurology department, wrote in his opening statement. WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE. Forbes released its 30 under 30 list yesterday, and we were, sadly, not on it. Among its picks for health care are creators of a tool to summarize medical records and founders of a research consortium that develops AI algorithms for doctors. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@politico.com and bleonard@politico.com and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @_BenLeonard_. TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Lauren Gardner talks with POLITICO global health care reporter Carmen Paun, who explains why U.S. health experts say the surge in respiratory infections in China is neither a sign of another pandemic nor cause for concern.
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