Hot on the heels of recent announcements from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (see our prior blogs here), the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) has joined the conversation on the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and Machine Learning (“ML”) technologies in the medicinal product lifecycle.
AI and ML have
Continue Reading EMA Releases Reflection Paper on AI/ML in the Medicinal Product LifecycleThe Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) has published a “Consultation on the future regulation of medical devices in the United Kingdom” (the “Consultation”), which will run until 25 November 2021. The consultation sets out proposed changes to the UK medical device regulatory framework with
Continue Reading Consultation on the Future Regulation of Medical Devices in the UK, including Work Programme for Software and AI Medical Devices
On May 3, 2021, the European Commission (the “Commission”) opened a further public consultation (“Consultation”) on the European Health Data Space (“EHDS”).
This follows a consultation earlier in the year, on the Commission’s “Inception Impact Assessment” in relation to the EHDS. (For further information on the earlier consultation and an overview of the EHDS, please see our blog post available here).Continue Reading European Commission Conducts Further Consultation on the European Health Data Space Initiative
On December 23, 2020, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published its inception impact assessment (“Inception Impact Assessment”) of policy options for establishing a European Health Data Space (“EHDS”). The Inception Impact Assessment is open for consultation until February 3, 2021, encouraging “citizens and stakeholders” to “provide views on the Commission’s understanding of the current situation, problem and possible solutions”.
Continue Reading European Commission Conducts Open Consultation on the European Health Data Space Initiative
On January 3, 2019, the National Medical Products Administration (“NMPA”) published a draft standalone software appendix of medical device good manufacturing practice (“Draft Standalone Software GMP” or “Draft Appendix”) for public comment (available here). Comments are due on January 30, 2019.
China revised its medical device GMP in 2014, which apply to all classes of devices regardless of whether they are imported or made in China. Subsequently, NMPA added various appendices (fulu) to articulate special requirements for certain types of devices, including sterile, implantable, and in vitro diagnostic devices. The Draft Appendix sets out proposed special requirements for software that falls under the definition of medical device.
In China, the definition of a medical device covers software that either itself constitutes a device (i.e., standalone software) or is an accessory/component of a device (i.e., component software). The Draft Standalone Software GMP expressly applies to standalone software and it states that it applies, “by reference,” (mutatis mutandis) to component software. If finalized, the Draft Standalone Software GMP would be effective on an undetermined date in 2020.
The Draft Appendix is a relatively simple document with four main sections:
Key features of the Draft Standalone Software GMP include the following:Continue Reading NMPA Releases Draft Good Manufacturing Practice Appendix on Standalone Software
On 20 November 2018, the UK government published its response (the “Response”) to the June 2018 consultation (the “Consultation”) regarding the proposed new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (“DEI”). First announced in the UK Chancellor’s Autumn 2017 Budget, the DEI will identify measures needed to strengthen the way data and AI are used and regulated, advising on addressing potential gaps in regulation and outlining best practices in the area. The DEI is described as being the first of its kind globally, and represents an opportunity for the UK to take the lead the debate on how data is regulated.
Continue Reading IoT Update: The UK Government’s Response to Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation Consultation
Digital health solution providers, and users of digital health services, should take note of three recently launched EU public consultations in the digital health space, and may wish to make submissions to help shape the future of digital health initiatives in the EU. The earliest deadline for submissions is 16
Continue Reading Europe Consults on Digital Health
The UK Government has opened a consultation, running until September 7, 2016, regarding how UK National Health Service (NHS) patient data should be safeguarded, and how it could be used for purposes other than direct care (e.g. scientific research).
The consultation comes after two parallel-track reviews of information governance and data security arrangements in the NHS found a number of shortcomings, described below. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the National Data Guardian (NDG, led by Dame Fiona Caldicott) made a range of recommendations, including new security standards, stronger inspection and enforcement around security lapses and re-identification of anonymized patient data, and an eight-point process around assuming and respecting patient consent decisions.
Following the public consultation, the new security standards could eventually be required and audited by government inspectors from the CQC, and imposed under revised standard NHS England contract terms. CQC inspectors could potentially act on tip-offs from NHS Digital (formerly known as the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre, ‘HSCIC’). Those tip-offs could be based on low scores obtained by organizations in their annual NHS Information Governance Toolkit (IGT) self-assessments. The IGT, which the reviewers said should be redesigned, applies both to NHS bodies and their commercial vendors.
The new consent model, meanwhile, could provide more streamlined, system-wide consents for use of patient data for purposes including quality assurance and research.
The CQC and the NDG’s findings and twenty-four recommendations were jointly presented in a covering letter to the UK government, available here, and fuller reports, available here and here (CQC and NDG, respectively). This post provides a brief summary of their main findings and recommendations. For the consultation questions themselves, see here.
Continue Reading UK Government Considering New Patient Data Security and Research Consent Standards, Sanctions
The European Commission has finally published its summary of 211 responses to its mobile health (“mHealth”) consultation. The summary and original responses to the consultation have been made available on the Commission’s website at https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/summary-report-public-consultation-green-paper-mobile-health
The consultation covered a broad range of important issues for mHealth, including legal frameworks, privacy and data protection, patient safety, mHealth’s role in healthcare systems, equal access, interoperability, funding and reimbursement, liability, research & innovation, international cooperation, and market access issues, particularly for web entrepreneurs.Continue Reading Summary Report of European Commission’s mHealth Consultation Published