ACP policy update 2025: Regulatory uncertainty creates risk for physicians adopting new technology

In an interview with Medical Economics at the American College of Physicians (ACP) Internal Medicine Meeting 2025, Brian Outland, PhD, director of regulatory affairs at ACP, highlights the growing uncertainty for physicians navigating health IT and compliance amid federal communication and regulatory freezes.

“It’s going to be tough,” Outland said. “We’re not sure what will be the effects of the administration on making changes to the rules and things that were put in place by the previous administration.”

Outland pointed specifically to the communication freeze affecting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). “The Physician Fee Schedule generally comes out in July. We’re not sure what is going to be in that rule,” he said. “Will physicians have to make changes? Will that rule even come out?”

He added that the freeze has created a breakdown in transparency between health agencies and physician advocates. “Even CMS and CMMI people can’t really talk to us … they can’t divulge [their plans] to us yet, until they have a confirmation of the administrator.”

Amid stalled rulemaking and rollback of safeguards like AI safety guidelines, Outland said ACP is working to prepare for what’s next. “Hopefully we can all come together before too long and have something ready for our physicians to be able to combat any changes that might happen.”