Portugal becomes first EU state to join HealthAI network

By Leo Marchandon ‌and Mateusz Rabiega

July ​16 - ​Portugal became the first European Union member state on Wednesday to join HealthAI's global ‌network for overseeing the use of artificial intelligence ⁠in healthcare, as Europe prepares to implement new AI rules ‌across the bloc.

The agreement between ‌Portugal's healthcare regulator Infarmed and Geneva-based nonprofit HealthAI gives Portugal access to a directory of regulator-reviewed AI ​health tools as well as a real-time warning system for sharing reports of harmful incidents.

Portugal joins ⁠Britain, India, Brazil, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Zambia and Peru in ​the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network (GRN).

The EU's AI Act is taking effect as health systems across ​Europe accelerate the adoption of ‌AI-powered tools.

"This is clearly better achieved through international cooperation and by sharing experiences and ⁠expertise," Infarmed President Santos Ivo said in a statement.

HealthAI, which is funded mainly by governments including Canada, Britain, Norway and ⁠Singapore, was set up to develop common standards and governance ​frameworks for AI in healthcare.

Chief Executive Baptista Leite said the organisation was in talks with other EU member states and argued ‌that Europe's regulatory decisions would influence AI governance globally.

"Whatever Europe will do will have ‌a spillover effect in other regions around the world. ⁠It's incredibly important that ‌Brussels gets it ​right," he told Reuters.

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Mateusz Rabiega in Gdansk; Editing by Matt ‌Scuffham)

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