BIAS IN CANCER DIAGNOSIS
A new study published yesterday in Jama found that a test used to diagnose patients with lung cancer had a built-in racial bias. The algorithm in the software used to diagnose patients assumed that Black people had naturally weaker lung capacity, raising the threshold for recommending care and making it less likely that they would be prescribed medication. According to the study, up to 40 percent more Black men would have been diagnosed with breathing problems if the bias had been corrected. The study also pointed out that this specific test isn't the only place where racial bias affects medicine. Prejudices and assumptions about racial differences affect patients looking for heart and kidney care as well.
WARNING ABOUT PAYMENT APPS
There's a new warning for people who store money in payment apps like Paypal, Venmo, and Cash App. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPC) said that the funds may not be secure in the case of a crisis, because while traditional bank accounts are secured up to $250,000, money held in a payment app doesn't have the same protections. So if one of these companies ever had a funding issue or was forced to close, customers could lose their money.
A group of people stole up to $100,000 worth of merchandise from a shopping mall in Los Angeles.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy have successfully rescued four missing divers off the coast of North Carolina.
Cheddar News checks in with a coast-to-coast forecast of the weather for Monday, Aug. 14, 2023.
Officials who set policies and fund programs can’t get money and other support needed to make a difference as the risk of extreme heat rises.
Alzheimer’s mainly affects the elderly, who are eligible for Medicare, but people under 65 — even, rarely, as young as their 30s — also can get diagnosed. They are more likely to have commercial coverage.
The vote by the state's Public Utilities Commission came despite reservations from city officials and residents spurred by erratic behavior that resulted in unmanned vehicles blocking traffic, including the path of emergency vehicles.
The teenager was airlifted to a hospital Tuesday for injuries including nine broken vertebrae, a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung and a concussion. He was discharged Saturday.
Authorities are also warning that the effort to find and identify the dead is just beginning. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Saturday that crews with cadaver dogs have covered just 3% of the search area.
Some doctors say the drug should be held for three weeks before sedation to accommodate the delayed emptying of the stomach, which can cause patients to inhale food and liquid into their lungs.
More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year.
