Consternation as Congress proposal for autonomous prescribing AI coincides with the haphazard cuts at the FDA.

Gilbert, Stephen; Dai, Tinglong; Mathias, Rebecca · NPJ Digit Med · 2025

editorial · Level V

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Abstract

We live in interesting regulatory times. In January, a bill was introduced to the US Congress proposing that AI “can qualify as a practitioner eligible to prescribe drugs” if overseen by the States and FDA. This a bold and contentious move. Even proponents of AI’s swift integration into medicine must recognize the deep paradox: this proposal emerges even as the FDA’s world-leading infrastructure for AI oversight faces dismantling.