The Health Research authority (HRA) has launched a two-year plan to help support the safe and trusted use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health and social care research across the UK.
The new two-year plan sets out how the HRA, working with partners in the devolved governments, will help researchers use AI and other new technologies in ways that improve care, while maintaining public trust and protecting participants.
The plan supports the HRA's strategy, which includes a commitment to helping researchers carry out research in new ways using technologies such as AI. By the end of the strategy in 2028, the HRA has committed to ensure that it is clear how it supports researchers to use new technologies and data to plan and do research, and to research the use of new approaches and technologies in care, in line with the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.
As part of the work to develop the plan, HRA colleagues explored where the organisation can make the biggest difference over the next two years, and agreed three priority areas for action, focused on supporting safe innovation, improving clarity for researchers, and helping ensure public confidence in the use of AI in research. The priorities are designed to support research across all four nations of the UK.
Matt Westmore, HRA Chief Executive, commented: “AI has huge potential to improve health and social care research and, ultimately, patient care. Our role is to help create the right environment for innovation to happen safely, responsibly and in ways that people can trust. This plan sets out practical steps we can take over the next two years to support researchers using AI and new technologies, while keeping the interests of patients and the public at the centre of research."
Read the AI plan on the HRA website.