Latest Posts
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UnitedHealth lawsuit over alleged AI-driven denials of care moves forward
In November 2023, the families of two deceased patients filed a proposed class action lawsuit in the US against UnitedHealth Group, one of the country’s largest health insurers, and its subsidiary naviHealth. They allege the companies used an AI tool called nH Predict to wrongfully deny elderly patients in Medicare Advantage plans coverage for care…
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Fairness and bias correction in machine learning for depression prediction across four study populations
A study found that standard machine learning approaches often exhibit biased behaviours in predicting depression across different populations. It also demonstrated that both standard and novel post-hoc-bias mitigation techniques can effectively reduce unfair bias, though no single model achieves equality of outcomes. The biases that were identified risk reinforcing structural inequalities in mental healthcare, particularly affecting underserved…
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New-Onset Illness Anxiety Disorder After Helicobacter Pylori Infection: A Case Report
In this interesting case study from 2024, a 21-year-old woman developed illness anxiety disorder (IAD), formerly known as hypochondria, following a Helicobacter pylori infection. In the case, even after the H. pylori infection was successfully…
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Value of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial fibrillary acidic protein for detecting depression in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection
Depression is often associated with Helicobacter pylori and the success of its treatment. In this recent research paper, it was shown that people infected with these bacteria have lower levels of BDNF (a brain health…
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Equity in medical devices: independent review
Medical devices are often assumed to work equally well for everyone, but an independent review commissioned by the UK government shows this is not always the case. The review began after concerns that pulse oximeters,…
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Helicobacter Pylori and Psychiatric Disorders: Comorbidity and Therapeutic Perspectives
This 2023 observational study, conducted over three consecutive years in a psychiatric clinic, followed adults receiving outpatient psychiatric care for different psychiatric disorders. Of those patients, 291 had depression that did not respond to treatment, persistent iron deficiency, or digestive complaints, and were tested for the presence of Helicobacter pylori. After confirming the infection and treating it, most patients also received iron and vitamins B9 and B12 when needed. The results were striking: 74% of H. pylori–positive patients who continued psychiatric follow-up reported improvement after treatment. They experienced reductions in symptoms such as apathy, loss of pleasure, anxiety, sadness, cognitive…
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FDA proposes updated recommendations to help improve performance of pulse oximeters across skin tones
Pulse oximeters are small devices, usually placed on a finger, that estimate the level of oxygen in the blood. Evidence shows they may be less accurate in people with darker skin. This problem gained wider attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, when inaccurate readings led to delayed treatment for some patients with darker skin. In…
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Common heart failure may be underdiagnosed in Black patients, AI-based study finds
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for around half of heart failure cases in the UK. In this condition, the heart pumps blood normally but does not fill properly, causing symptoms such as breathlessness,…
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Artificial intelligence in healthcare: Applications, risks, and ethical and societal impacts
This report, published by the European Parliamentary Research Service’s Scientific Foresight Unit (STOA), looks at how AI is being used in healthcare and the risks it brings. It identifies seven main risks: patient harm due to…
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Fairness-Aware Hyperparameter Optimization
Machine learning is increasingly used to make decisions about people, and there have been several reports of bias in areas such as recidivism assessment, job-applicant screening and mortgage risk. This master’s thesis focused on hyperparameters, the…