Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experts Weigh In On The Great Hopes For Artificial Intelligence In Medicine And The Ethical Pitfalls That Come With It
The Wall Street Journal: The Ethical Dilemmas AI Poses For Health Care
Could a machine-learning algorithm diagnose your next illness? Artificial intelligence can make diagnoses from digitized images such as mammograms and diabetic retinal scans. More sophisticated interventions might also be possible someday: algorithms that guide robots through surgery, for example, or even help restore motor control in paralyzed patients. (Ward, 10/14)
The Washington Post: Video Games Help People With Disabilities Find Friends And Transcend Real-World Limitations
When Jackson Reece lost his arms and legs to sepsis after already being paralyzed, he thought his life was over. It was video games that brought him back. “I don’t think about being disabled when I’m in my gaming setup and talking to everyone,” Reece, 33, said. “Just Jackson ‘pitbullreece,’ just sitting here playing, and that’s what makes me me.” In the United States, one in four people have a disability, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Miller, 10/14)
The Washington Post: A Recent College Graduate Helps Nursing-Home Residents See The World — Without Leaving Home
Jim Halsey, 83, has traveled in his life to Japan and South Korea, through Europe and Central America. One recent day, he squatted in a narrow, wooden boat and watched as an elephant trudged through a swamp in Botswana. Halsey, who was an intellectual-property lawyer before he retired, didn’t have to leave his wheelchair at Powhatan Nursing Home in Falls Church, Va., to make the trip. He and about a half-dozen other residents at the retirement facility strapped on virtual-reality goggles and journeyed to the country in southern Africa, as well as to Antarctica. (Lumpkin, 10/14)
WBUR: New Technology Can Identify Bacteria's Genetic Make-Up, Fight Drug Resistance
That resistance is wreaking havoc with patients suffering from urinary tract infections, leading to hospitalizations and even deaths, as well as lower respiratory tract infections, which doctors say patients are being routinely over-treated for before a correct diagnosis is made. (Young, 10/14)
