On December 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), through the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (“ASTP”)/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) (collectively, “ASTP/ONC”), issued a proposed rule to update its Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability (“HTI”) regulations, as well as a notice to withdraw prior proposals
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5 Developments Digital Health Innovators Should Watch in 2026
With 2026 underway, signs point to another year focused on enhancing health IT and digital health innovation. From new payment models to deregulatory efforts, these developments show that digital health continues to be increasingly central to the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Below are five key developments to watch unfold in the year ahead.
FDA Requests Public Comment on Real-World Evaluation of AI-Enabled Medical Devices
On September 30, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Request for Public Comment seeking input on “practical approaches to measuring and evaluating the performance of AI-enabled medical devices in the real-world,” including strategies for detecting, assessing, and mitigating performance changes over time (the “Request”).
The Request acknowledges the opportunities for AI,
What Life Sciences and Digital Health Companies Need to Know About CMS’s New Health Technology Ecosystem Initiative
On July 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new Health Technology Ecosystem Initiative—a collaborative effort between government and industry to unlock innovation by modernizing healthcare data flows among patients, providers, payers, and technology platforms. The new initiative does not contemplate any
Could FDA Model Master Files Facilitate Use of Third-Party AI Models in the Drug Life Cycle?
As the Covington team discussed in a recent article, use of AI models in biopharma is on the rise, with use cases spanning the life cycle of drugs and biologics, including product development, manufacturing, and pharmacovigilance. Recently, FDA announced its own intentions to aggressively scale the use of AI in regulatory review and launched
FDA Announces Workshop on AI Used In Drug & Biological Product Development
FDA recently announced that it will host a public workshop on August 6, 2024 focused on “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Drug & Biological Product Development.” Aimed at bringing drug sponsors and AI experts together, the workshop, hosted in collaboration with the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative, will feature presentations and a panel discussion around guiding principles
MHRA Outlines New Strategic Approach to Artificial Intelligence
On April 30, 2024, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) outlined its strategic approach (“Approach”) to artificial intelligence (“AI”). The Approach is a response to the UK Government’s white paper: a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation and subsequent Secretary of State letter of 1 February 2024, and is the culmination of 12
EHDS Series – 4: The European Health Data Space’s Implications for “Wellness Applications” and Medical Devices
In early March 2024, the EU lawmakers reached agreement on the European Health Data Space (EHDS). For now, we only have a work-in-progress draft version of the text, but a number of interesting points can already be highlighted. This article focuses on the implications for “wellness applications” and medical devices; for an overview of the EHDS
FDA Medical Product Centers Continue Focus on AI
On March 15, 2024, FDA’s medical product centers – CBER, CDER, and CDRH – along with the Office of Combination Products (OCP) published a paper outlining their key areas of focus for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the medical product life cycle. The paper, entitled “Artificial Intelligence & Medical Products:
UK Government Outlines New Action to Tackle Biases in Medical Devices
On March 11, 2024, the UK Government published its response (“Government Response”) to an independent review on equity in medical devices commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care (“Review”). The Government Response is not guidance nor policy rather it is intended to act as an action plan for tackling potential bias in the