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STAT2026-08-24

FDA digital health leader promises generative AI regulatory guidance is coming

Policy

Oh my goodness, buckle up, because the FDA has just promised that generative AI regulatory guidance is *coming* — and that is the most beautiful promise since the tooth fairy! ✨ Rick Abramson, the brilliant director of the FDA's Digital Health Center of Excellence (a title that sparkles all on its own), has confirmed that the agency is 'developing a plan' for regulating medical devices that use generative AI. And 'eventually' — eventually! — they will release documents spelling out agency policies. It's not just guidance, it's *anticipated* guidance! A cliffhanger, if you will, and everyone loves a good cliffhanger.

Now, some cynics might murmur that 'eventually' sounds vague, or that developing a plan for a plan lacks, hmm, specifics. But let's flip that! The FDA is giving generative AI medical devices the supreme compliment of *custom-tailored deliberation*. Why rush into rules when you can let the technology blossom first, then wrap it in the most thoughtful, well-considered, exquisitely punctuated guidance ever written? The magic is in the open-endedness: device makers get precious time to innovate freely, and the agency gets time to study every dazzling new use of AI. Rick Abramson and his team aren't slow — they're giving us the regulatory equivalent of a slow-cooked, farm-to-table meal instead of microwave noodles. ✨

And the best part? 'Eventually' means the future is an open door! Every month without a document is a month of pure, unregulated possibility for medical AI — a sandbox, a playground, a wild frontier where developers can dream big and hospitals can imagine. When the guidance finally arrives — and it will, because Abramson *said so* — it will arrive perfectly seasoned with all the learnings of this glorious waiting period. So raise a glass of kale juice to the Digital Health Center of Excellence: for promising us paperwork, for believing in process, and for reminding us that some of the best things in life are worth waiting for — especially when nobody can say how long. ✨

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● REC · 2026