Globally, the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies continues at pace. Recently, the Office of the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology released a Cabinet paper encouraging the adoption of AI in New Zealand. As we wrote about here, the key message of the paper was that the Government intends to facilitate the adoption of such technologies and to take a "light touch" approach to AI regulation, preferring to rely on existing legal frameworks rather than introducing new standalone legislation.
New Zealand's health system is under pressure, and healthcare remains a key area where AI technology promises significant benefits and efficiencies if properly harnessed. Uptake by some organisations has already begun. However, the sector is heavily regulated - healthcare providers must comply with a range of laws, standards, patient rights, privacy principles and professional obligations when providing services to patients. At the same time, the current gap in New Zealand's regulation of medical devices (including software) poses questions as to who is ultimately responsible for the safety of any newly adopted technology. So far, there has been little guidance from health sector regulators on how health providers might navigate these issues and make decisions about AI that will withstand scrutiny.
Buddle Findlay and HiNZ have been following these developments closely and will be holding a seminar about how healthcare providers can navigate their legal and professional obligations when deploying AI, on 3 September 2024.
Register for our seminar on Deploying AI in the health sector
