Finding clarity in AI Regulation: A clinicians first look at the AI and Digital Regulations Service

As a healthcare professional, I have watched the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in health and social care with both excitement and curiosity. From diagnostics to helping streamline documentation, AI is offering to transform the way we practice clinical medicine. However, for those looking to develop or adopt AI and digital technology it can feel overwhelming to know where to get the right guidance on best practice. Regulation can be complex, how do we know what steps need to be taken in ensuring the AI tools we use in clinical practice have been correctly regulated?

What is AIDRS

The AI and Digital Regulations Service (AIDRS) was developed to bring greater clarity to the AI regulation landscape for both “adopters” and “developers”. AIDRS represents collaboration between four key regulatory and evaluation authorities. It provides useable guidance aiding users to make an informed decision in an area that can often feel fragmented.

As a clinician relatively new to this space, I read through the website as though a potential adopter of digital health technology. I found the service easy to follow and logically structured, with step-by-step guidance on how to make an informed decision before implementing technology into practice. I was particularly interested in the “Identifying the problem” section which guides the user in assessing if digital healthcare technologies are the right solution to their problem or if a simpler solution could be used. With so much attention on AI in the health and care setting, reminding adopters to take a step back and assess if this is truly needed, is particularly important.

Navigating through the adopter’s guidance, I appreciated that the website had a clearly marked out area explaining which steps were legal requirements and which were best practice. The page is transparent in where the information has been extracted from and which regions of the UK the guide covers. I enjoyed reading through the case studies on the website. These were real life examples of how important it is to have regulatory pathways in place when adopting new technologies within health and care settings.

With AI adoption increasing across the NHS, understanding regulation will increasingly be a part of digital literacy. Resources like AIDRS will play an important role in supporting safe, transparent, and evidence-based implementation. Exploring the site reminds me that responsible innovation isn’t about knowing every regulation in detail, it’s about understanding where to find reliable guidance, and how to apply it thoughtfully in clinical practice.