CVS, other health care providers pledge to use AI safely

CVS AI overview: 

• Who: CVS and 27 other health care companies made a voluntary pact to institute artificial intelligence (AI) safely to improve health care services, the White House and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
• Why: The guidelines are aimed at transparency and safe development and institution of AI in health care.
• Where: The CVS AI safety commitments were announced from HHS’ Washington, D.C., office.

CVS and 27 other health care companies made a voluntary pact to institute artificial intelligence (AI) safely, the White House and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced. 

The pact includes a promise to vigorously and safely develop AI for use in health care that can lower costs, expand health care access and equity, improve outcomes and reduce clinician burnout.

Content that is created through AI and not reviewed by humans should be identified as such, the health care AI pact says.

There also should be tracking the AI safety of applications that using the technology, reviews to identify potential harms and then a plan to mitigate those harms.

The health care AI pact companies committed to work with peer and partners to “ensure outcomes are aligned with fair, appropriate, valid, effective, and safe (FAVES) AI principles.”

28 health care companies will work with HHS to ensure pact is followed

The companies that committed to the CVS AI safety pact are Allina Health, Bassett Healthcare Network, Boston Children’s Hospital, Curai Health, CVS Health, Devoted Health, Duke Health, Emory Healthcare, Endeavor Health, Fairview Health Systems, Geisinger, Hackensack Meridian, HealthFirst (Florida), Houston Methodist, John Muir Health, Keck Medicine, Main Line Health, Mass General Brigham, Medical University of South Carolina Health, Oscar, OSF HealthCare, Premera Blue Cross, Rush University System for Health, Sanford Health, Tufts Medicine, UC San Diego Health, UC Davis Health and WellSpan Health.

Those health care AI safety pact companies will continue to work with HHS to ensure the pact is followed and that it evolves with the technology.

“HHS also plays a variety of critical roles, serving as a regulator of the health industry, catalyst for innovation in the delivery of health and human services, investor of grant and research funding, and convener of common interests and priorities for ensuring the health and wellbeing for all Americans,” the announcement said.

CVS is facing a class action lawsuit claiming that the phenylephrine drug sold at its stores under the “CVS Health” label was ineffective.

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