FDA Announces New Committee to Handle Digital Health Technology Risks, Opportunities

The Food and Drug Administration has announced a new committee mandated to explore issues related to digital health technologies.

The Digital Health Advisory Committee will advise the agency on artificial intelligence and machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, remote patient monitoring, wearable technologies and other products used in the health care sector. The committee will also provide expertise and different perspectives to improve the agency’s understanding of the risks and benefits associated with the technologies and encourage innovation across the health care technology segment.

The committee, which will comprise individuals from different disciplines and backgrounds, is expected to be fully operational in 2024, the FDA said.

The introduction of the new committee comes as AI uptake rises across the health care sector.

The Department of Health and Human Services said in mid-August that its AI use case inventory jumped by over 300 percent during the fiscal year 2023, indicating its commitment to use emerging technologies to meet innovation objectives. According to the HHS, the National Institutes of Health and the FDA managed most of the department’s AI tools.

In April, the FDA sought information from small businesses on how advanced manufacturing could affect drug quality and performance. The agency wants to use AI to measure and simulate drug performance.