🔭 Observatory
Regulatory Assurance: how we use AI, who signs, and how your data is handled
One statement for every programme: the AI we use and do not use, the clinicians who sign, the data we hold and the rules we work to. Version 1.1, issued 13 October 2026.
Reviewed and kept current
Last editorial review: 13 October 2026 · Next scheduled refresh: 11 April 2027.
AI in use today
Three classes of machinery, each named wherever a learner meets it. This is the position on 13 October 2026, issued by the Course Director.
| Class | What it is today | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Deterministic | Marking of self-assessment quizzes and examinations against an answer key that a registered clinician has checked and signed; certificate issue and verification; search; weekly automated checks that no page shows a past date or a banned claim. | Live |
| AI-drafted, clinician-signed | Teaching content: lessons, cases, practice stations, question items and summaries. AI assists the drafting. A named clinician checks every statement against a named guideline version and signs it, with the date, before a learner sees it. | Live |
| Adaptive, formative | A learner model, study-path recommendations and an AI tutor that explains and questions. These are in design. None is built for learners and none is switched on for any programme. | Not live |
No learner-facing feature calls a generative model today. When an adaptive feature is introduced it will be formative only, it will be labelled, and it will not decide a mark. A data protection impact assessment will be completed, and this statement re-issued, before any is switched on.
By programme
The same three classes apply to every programme. What differs is the award and who decides a mark.
| Programme | Award or certificate | AI used today, and who decides marks |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Advanced Studies in Cardio-Renal-Metabolic Medicine and Heart Failure | Awarded by New Vision University. First cohort September 2027. | AI-drafted, clinician-signed teaching content; deterministic marking of knowledge checks; no adaptive feature. Marks and the award are decided by the course leader, the university’s examiners and an external examiner, never by AI. |
| Certificate of Advanced Studies in Menopause and Andropause | Awarded by New Vision University. First cohort September 2027. | As above. |
| Acumen Focus modules and the two micro-course CPD programmes | NVU (UK) CPD certificate. | AI-drafted, clinician-signed teaching content. Marking is automatic against a signed answer key; no decision is made by AI. |
| MRCGP AKT units and the SCA consultation-skills course | Formative practice. No award. | AI-drafted, clinician-signed teaching content and stations; deterministic marking of knowledge checks. The learner marks against signed mark schemes; no mark is decided by AI. |
| PLAB 2 practice cases | Free practice. No award. | AI-drafted, clinician-signed cases and mark schemes. The learner marks against signed mark schemes. |
| Undergraduate ECTS modules | Credit is awarded by the student’s own medical school. | AI-drafted, clinician-signed teaching content; deterministic marking. Marks are reported to the student’s medical school, which decides credit. |
Award wording for the Certificates of Advanced Studies. Certificate of Advanced Studies awarded by New Vision University, Tbilisi, Georgia; 10 ECTS (20 UK credits); pitched at EQF level 7, equivalent in level to the FHEQ level 7 descriptors. New Vision University is not a UK degree-awarding body; recognition of credit is at the discretion of receiving institutions.
Who signs, and for how long
Every clinical statement is signed by a named GMC-registered clinician with the date and the guideline version relied on. Nothing reaches a learner unsigned. At present one clinician signs all clinical material, the Course Director; the signer register is on the Observatory.
Your data
The full notice is on the learning platform. These are the points that matter for assurance.
The rules we work to
MD Acumen Ltd is a UK company led by a UK-registered clinician, so UK law governs how we operate. We use EU law as our reference standard. Full wording and references are on the Observatory.
| Framework | How it applies to us | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| UK law and regulators | UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025; the Medical Devices Regulations 2002; the GMC’s Good medical practice; the Equality Act 2010; advertising and consumer law. | Educational use only; no patient data and no patient-specific advice; no mark decided by AI; claims held to evidence. |
| EU AI Act (reference standard) | Reaches a provider outside the EU where the output of its AI system is used in the EU. AI that decides admission, evaluates learning outcomes, sets a learner’s level or monitors cheating in tests is high-risk from 2 December 2027. Transparency duties apply from 2 August 2026. | Adaptive features, when introduced, are formative only and decide no mark, so we are designed to sit outside the high-risk category. This is our assessment and we keep it under review. |
| New Vision University and Georgia | The Certificates of Advanced Studies and the NVU (UK) CPD certificates sit under the AI and medical-education framework agreed with the university. Georgia has its own Law on Personal Data Protection (2023). | AI use in developing learning materials is declared, and every item is verified and signed off by a named clinical academic before release. |
European quality standards
The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015) are the reference for the awarding university. This table shows where our work meets four of them.
| Standard | What it asks | Where it shows |
|---|---|---|
| 1.3 Student-centred learning, teaching and assessment | Respect for learners, flexible learning, fair and consistent assessment. | Optional, labelled study features; marks decided by people against published schemes; reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. |
| 1.5 Teaching staff | Staff are competent and fairly appointed. | Teaching content is signed by a named GMC-registered clinician; the awarding university appoints its examiners. |
| 1.8 Public information | Information is clear, accurate, up to date and accessible. | This statement; a dated editorial line on every page; weekly automated checks for out-of-date pages and banned claims. |
| 1.9 On-going monitoring and periodic review | Programmes are monitored and reviewed regularly. | Quarterly review and re-dating when a guideline changes; an outcomes study planned for when ethics approval is held. |
The awarding university remains responsible for its own quality assurance and accreditation (ESG 1.2).
Conflicts, independence and sponsorship
Never a charge to a learner we owe a duty to; no pharmaceutical funding of any credit-bearing or paid programme; CPD-event sponsorship only, under the ABPI Code, declared within seven days.
Change log and how to raise a concern
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | 13 October 2026 | Wording aligned to the product today: AI assists the drafting of material; surface labels are being added; issued by the Course Director. |
| 1.0 | 11 October 2026 | First issue: AI in use today, programmes, signers, data, rules, quality standards, independence. |
Next scheduled refresh 11 April 2027, or sooner if a regulation, a programme or an AI feature changes. A new adaptive feature is not switched on until this statement is re-issued.
To raise a concern about how AI is used, write to enquiry@mdacumen.com. Complaints follow the complaints procedure. This statement describes our approach and is not legal advice.
© 2026 MD Acumen Ltd · Registered in England and Wales · Company no. 16538952 · ICO registration ZC105897