Dive Brief:
- The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is offering new funding for projects on artificial intelligence and behavioral healthcare.
- The agency is looking for proposals for evaluating and improving the quality of healthcare data used by AI tools, and projects that speed the use of health IT products in mental healthcare.
- The ONC will award up to $2 million for the two projects in fiscal year 2024. Applications are due July 12.
Dive Insight:
The funding comes from Leading Edge Acceleration Projects in Health IT, which has provided grants to address “well-documented and fast emerging” challenges that slow the advancement of health technology since 2018.
Previous LEAP funding focused on projects that would promote interoperability, address social determinants of health and support clinical research, among other initiatives.
The new funding is looking for proposals that will assess and improve electronic health record data used for AI products and develop health IT tools for behavioral healthcare providers, especially those with limited technical and financial resources.
Mental healthcare providers are less likely to have adopted certified EHRs compared with physical care clinicians, in part because these providers haven’t received the same level of government incentives, the ONC said in its proposal request.
Fifty-eight percent of psychiatrists and 67% of psychiatric hospitals have adopted certified EHRs, compared with 86% of physical health providers, according to a 2019 survey by the National Center for Health Statistics cited by the agency.
The latest grants follow increased industry interest in healthcare AI and growing concern about Americans’ mental health and their access to care.
Over the past year, technology companies have released a score of generative AI tools, especially products that aim to assist with clinical documentation and other administrative tasks that often take up a large chunk of providers’ time at work — and after hours.
But some experts and policymakers have raised concerns about a rapid deployment of AI tools in healthcare, arguing a lack of careful oversight could worsen health disparities or cause errors.
Regulators have made some moves to address the use of AI in healthcare. Late last year, the ONC finalized a sweeping rule that would require developers of certified clinical decision support and predictive tools to detail information like how these products are maintained and monitored, as well as known risks and inappropriate uses.
The HHS is also developing a task force focused on setting up guardrails surrounding the use of AI in the sector, following an executive order signed by President Joe Biden in the fall last year.
