The Health Foundation: The public’s views on the regulation of AI in health care (September 2026)

Summary

AI is increasingly becoming part of how health care is delivered. This comes with both potential, for example to reduce administrative burden, and risks, such as widening inequalities. It also raises complex questions about how AI tools should be regulated, and challenges around how to assess, monitor and oversee its safety and effectiveness.

Commissioned as the research partner to the MHRA's independent National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare, this report brings together findings from the Health Foundation's polling of public attitudes towards AI with new findings from a UK-wide public deliberative exercise exploring what the public thinks regulators should prioritise and what is needed to build and maintain public trust in AI regulation. 

The findings underscore the importance of public trust, safety and accountability in the regulation of AI. Overall, it found that participants largely support the use of AI in health care, but that support is conditional on strong safeguards where accuracy and human oversight are essential. The report presents the findings of the research, including the public’s awareness of and attitudes to AI use in health care, priorities for regulation and potential approaches, and principles for regulating AI. The final section sets out the implications of these findings for policy.