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AI-powered symptom checkers direct worried patients to appropriate care
Worrying abdominal pain, headaches or other health symptoms frequently happen at inconvenient times, like on a weekend or after your doctor’s office has closed for the day. To accommodate patients with concerns like this, some medical centers have begun offering their own AI-powered symptom checkers — programs that ask patients questions about their symptoms and…
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What journalists should know about lab-developed tests
Lab-developed tests (LDTs) are diagnostic tools widely used across health care to test blood, tissue or other samples for infectious diseases, genetic markers, or other biomarkers of many conditions. Unlike tests manufactured and marketed commercially, LDTs are designed and used within a single lab that meets certain stringent standards. According to researchers, they’re invaluable tools for…
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The Jackson Heart Study: How historic research can inspire story ideas
In the late 90s, researchers launched the largest effort to understand the factors driving heart disease among African Americans in the U.S. The Jackson Heart Study, which includes 5,300 participants in the Jackson, Miss., area, has led to discoveries such as specific versions of genes that can double a person’s risk of heart disease. Long-running…
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What journalists should know about race-based prescribing
Several prescription medications bear FDA-approved, race-specific labels that suggest certain racial or ethnic groups should receive lower doses or may be at greater risk of side effects. And guidelines to physicians, which are endorsed by professional societies, sometimes recommend prescribing certain drugs differently based on race or ethnicity. Race-based labels exist for drugs to treat heart disease, various cancers, epilepsy, tuberculosis and…
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How AI-based algorithms are changing health care: 3 story angles to consider
Nearly five years ago, Emory University radiologist Judy Gichoya, M.D., spotted a call for research papers on health disparities. She and her colleagues set out to train a machine learning algorithm using a diverse set of medical images to show that using more inclusive data could lead to more precise results for everyone — and…
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Decentralized: Navigating the future of inclusive clinical trials
Decentralized clinical trials have emerged as a promising approach to overcome traditional barriers, enhance representation, and improve the quality of research by bringing biomedical studies directly into communities. However, recent policy changes under the Trump administration, including the removal of FDA guidance on clinical trial diversity, have raised concerns about the future of inclusive research.…
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4 angles to consider when covering the far-reaching effects of the NIH pause
The U.S. National Institutes of Health, like many federal agencies, has experienced unprecedented restrictions on their operations in the new administration’s first week, including a communications pause that abruptly halted meetings and workshops, a hiring freeze, and a moratorium on travel. Industries and sectors connected to the biomedical sciences are experiencing concern and disarray as…
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