Google, FitBit, others join CTA’s new initiative on AI in healthcare

More than 30 major companies and organizations including Google, FitBit and the Federation of State Medical Boards announced April 4 they’re joining the Consumer Technology Association’s (CTA) new initiative on AI in healthcare.

The CTA’s effort is driven by the organizations’ collective dedication to improving and standardizing the use of AI in medical settings, according to a release. The initiative, which hasn’t been given a name yet, will reportedly serve as a platform for stakeholders across the tech and healthcare industries to create a set of common terminology and best practices.

“The rapid progress of AI presents great opportunities but a special challenge that needs urgent attention,” Rene Quashie, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for digital health at CTA, said in the release. “This unique working group represents a diverse set of stakeholders across the ecosystem, including clinicians, manufacturers, regulators, public policy and civil rights organizations. The work produced will provide an informed framework for the use of AI in the context of healthcare.”

A full list of participating organizations can be found here, but members of the group include the American Telemedicine Association, IBM, Google, FitBit, Philips, Samsung, AT&T, Livongo and CarePredict. The initiative will be co-chaired by Pat Baird, the regulatory head of global software standards at Philips, and Jerry Wilmink, chief business officer at CarePredict.

The group is slated to meet for the first time at CTA’s Technology & Standards Spring Forum in San Francisco in May.

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After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.

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