More than 50 organizations – from major tech giants to startups and health care industry leaders – convened by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® have developed the first-ever ANSI-accredited standard for the use of artificial intelligence in health care. This standard, part of CTA’s new initiative on AI, is the first in a series that will set a foundation for implementing medical and health care solutions built on AI.
“This standard creates a firm base for the growing use of AI in our health care—technology that will better diagnose diseases, monitor patients’ recoveries and help us all live healthier lives,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “This is a major first step – convening some of the biggest players in the digital health world – to help create a more efficient health care system and offer value-based health care to Americans.”
AI-related terms are used in different ways, leading to confusion – especially in the health care industry, including telehealth and remote patient monitoring. To address this problem, CTA announced the working group with 30 members less than a year ago, which now includes a wide range of decision makers from 52 organizations and member companies to develop a standard built on consensus. The standard – 11 definitions and characteristics – provides a framework for better understanding AI technologies and common terminology so consumers, tech companies and care providers can better communicate, develop and use AI-based health care technologies.
A broader AI committee at CTA also published an ANSI-accredited standard that addresses the pervasiveness of AI-enabled technology across the entire consumer technology industry. The standard defines over 30 terms including machine learning, model bias, artificial neural network and trustworthiness.
“So far, common terminology has defined the intent of use — and that’s one of the most significant challenges in developing standard application of AI,” said Rene Quashie, VP, policy and regulatory affairs, digital health, CTA. “As health systems and providers use AI tools such as machine learning to diagnose, treat and manage disease, there’s an urgent need to understand and agree on AI concepts for consistent use. This standard does exactly that.” As the healthcare system deals with clinician shortages, an aging population and the persistence of chronic diseases in the US, technologically driven solutions, such as AI, will increasingly be used to meet clinician and patient needs, the group notes.
Among the definitions, the standard includes highly debated terms such as “assistive intelligence,” which the group defined as a category of AI software that “informs” or “drives” diagnosis or clinical management of a patient, however the health care provider makes the ultimate decisions before clinical action is taken.
“AI will play a major role in driving efficiency in healthcare and will support clinicians in making more precise diagnosis, offer personalized treatment and better guidance towards improved outcomes,” said Pat Baird, regulatory head of global software standards at Philips and co-chair of the working group. “This implies that AI will be used for decision support and decision making, which stresses the need for professionals to be able to take ownership, apply judgment and empathy. Transparency and a common language will be key to enable the proper and safe functioning of AI.”
Other definitions include terms like de-identified data, synthetic data, remote patient monitoring and patient decision support system.
Participating organizations include:
98point6 Inc.
AdvaMed
Amazon
American Association for Clinical Chemistry
American Medical Association
American Telemedicine Association
AT&T
Aural Analytics
BioIntelliSense
BlackBerry
Brookings Institution
CarePredict, Inc.
Connected Health Initiative
Doctor on Demand
Duke-Robert J. Margolis, MD, Center for Health Policy
Federation of State Medical Boards
Fitbit
Google Inc.
Ginger
Health Innovational Alliance
Humana
Humetrix
IBM
Intel Corporation
Isowalk
LG Electronics
Livongo Health
Magic Leap, Inc.
Matrix Advisors, LLC
Mercedes Benz - A Daimler Brand
Microsoft Corporation
MindMaze S.A.
National Urban League Washington Bureau
NeuroSky
Osso VR
Philips
Reemo
SDI Technologies, Inc.
SHIFT Performance Global
The Joint Commission
The Omega Concern, LLC
United Spinal Association
Valencell
Validic
Verizon
Volar Health, LLC
VOXX International
Xperi
Consumer Technology Association:
As North America’s largest technology trade association, CTA® is the tech sector. Our members are the world’s leading innovators – from startups to global brands – helping support more than 18 million American jobs. CTA owns and produces CES® – the largest, most influential tech event on the planet. Find us at CTA.tech. Follow us @CTAtech.