Portugal has become the first member of the European Union to join a global network dedicated to overseeing how artificial intelligence is used in healthcare, a milestone announced on Wednesday as Europe moves closer to enforcing sweeping new AI regulations across the continent.
Under the agreement, Portugal’s healthcare regulatory agency, Infarmed, will partner with HealthAI, a Geneva-based nonprofit organization. Through this partnership, Portugal gains entry to a curated directory of AI health tools that have been reviewed by regulators, along with a real-time alert system designed to flag reports of harmful incidents involving AI in medical settings.
With Portugal now on board, the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network includes Britain, India, Brazil, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Zambia, and Peru.
The development comes as the EU’s AI Act begins to take effect, coinciding with a rapid increase in the use of AI-powered tools across European health systems.
Infarmed President Santos Ivo emphasized the value of working across borders, stating, “This is clearly better achieved through international cooperation and by sharing experiences and expertise.”
HealthAI, which receives the majority of its funding from governments including Canada, Britain, Norway, and Singapore, was created to establish shared standards and governance structures for AI in the healthcare sector.
HealthAI Chief Executive Baptista Leite revealed that the organization is currently in discussions with additional EU member states. He also stressed the global significance of the decisions Europe makes on this issue. “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.
