ACR Responds to NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) recently submitted comments in response to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) request for information (RFI) that sought input regarding the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science 2023–2028. NIH sought input on its five goals of the strategic plan:

• Goal 1: Improve Capabilities to Sustain the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing.
• Goal 2: Develop Programs to Enhance Human Derived Data for Research.
• Goal 3: Provide New Opportunities in Software, Computational Methods and Artificial Intelligence.
• Goal 4: Support for a Federated Biomedical Research Data Infrastructure.
• Goal 5: Strengthen a Broad Community in Data Science.

In the submitted comments, ACR agreed with the concepts to promote trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) in the strategic plan but highlighted the need for NIH to clarify how data collected from medical images used in research projects and AI training will be handled. Additionally, ACR noted the public distrust of data sharing, specifically in the context of AI and machine learning, and encouraged clear communication to explain patient confidentiality safeguards, as well as the significance of the development of new systems to advance and monitor novel treatments and diagnostics.

ACR looks forward to continued collaborations with the NIH and serving as a resource for the agency.

For more information, contact Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.