Do you have a health question you’ve always wondered about? Tell us what’s on your mind. No Topic is off limits, and no question is too weird or silly. Wondering why your stomach growls, your eye twitches or hair grows in your ears? We’re on it. We can’t dispense personal medical advice or answer every question, but we can find experts to answer your questions about food, fitness, mental health, body parts, sleep, aging, chronic illness, dental issues and even your pets.

*Required

What is your question?

Example: Is taking a vitamin D supplement really necessary?* </div> <div class="form-section mb-md" readability="7"> Do you have any additional information you’d like to share? </div> <div class="form-section mb-md" readability="6.5"> <div class="form-text pt-sm font-xs font-bold font--subhead" readability="33">Your information We respect your privacy and will not publish any part of your response without contacting you first and getting your permission. </div> </div> <div class="form-section mb-md" readability="7"> <div class="form-text pt-sm font-xs font-bold font--subhead" readability="34">Which best describes your race or ethnicity? (Optional) Your response will help us ensure we answer questions from a diverse cross-section of readers. </div> </div> </div> </div> Question mark illustration by Christian Pietrzok for The Washington Post </description> <pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 09:51:00 -0500</pubDate> <dc:language>en</dc:language> <dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dc:identifier>https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/interactive/ask-a-doctor-health-question-form/</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>Best Practices to Consider for Industrial Hygiene</title> <description><img width="50%" src="https://ohsonline.com/articles/2023/11/15/-/media/OHS/OHS/Images/2023/11/11,-d-,15,-d-,23industrialhygiene.jpg" alt="Best Practices to Consider for Industrial Hygiene" class="storyimage"/> <h3 id="ph_pcontent2_0_MainHeading" class="title">Best Practices to Consider for Industrial Hygiene</h3> Let's explore best practices in industrial hygiene, with a focus on OSHA's role in regulating and promoting workplace safety. <ul id="ph_pcontent2_0_ByAuthor" class="byline"> <li class="author">By Elis Enano</li> <li class="date">Nov 15, 2023</li> </ul> Industrial hygiene plays a vital role in safeguarding the health and well-being of workers in various industries. It involves identifying and controlling potential hazards to minimize exposure to harmful substances and conditions. In the United States, <a href="https://www.osha.gov/aboutosha">OSHA</a> sets regulations and guidelines to ensure that workplaces maintain high standards of industrial hygiene. Let’s explore best practices in industrial hygiene, with a focus on OSHA's role in regulating and promoting workplace safety. Industrial hygiene is the science and art of identifying, assessing and managing workplace hazards to safeguard the health and well-being of workers. It encompasses various disciplines—including occupational toxicology, epidemiology and engineering—to address potential risks. Industrial hygiene, also known as occupational hygiene, encompasses a range of practices aimed at protecting workers from workplace hazards. These hazards can include exposure to toxic chemicals, noise, radiation, ergonomic issues and other physical or biological factors. Implementing effective industrial hygiene measures not only ensures the well-being of employees but can also lead to increased productivity and reduced healthcare costs for businesses. Industrial hygiene is a crucial field that aims to protect the health and well-being of workers by identifying, evaluating and controlling workplace hazards. To achieve these goals, industrial hygiene follows a set of principles and best practices. Here are seven key principles of industrial hygiene: <h2>1. Recognition of Hazards</h2> The first step in industrial hygiene is the recognition of hazards in the workplace. This involves identifying and understanding potential sources of danger, such as chemical substances, physical agents, ergonomic stressors and biological agents. OSHA provides comprehensive guidelines and resources for recognizing workplace hazards, which is essential for the subsequent steps in the industrial hygiene process. In addition, OSHA also recommends workers complete OSHA safety training, which provides site safety knowledge and awareness to prevent the <a href="https://www.oshaonlinecenter.com/articles/workplace-slip-trips-fall-insights">most common workplace hazards</a> and maintain a safe and healthy work environment. <h2>2. Assessment of Exposure</h2> </description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Nov 2023 10:00:00 -0600</pubDate> <dc:language>en-US</dc:language> <dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dc:identifier>https://ohsonline.com/articles/2023/11/15/best-practices-to-consider-for-industrial-hygiene.aspx</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>Answering the 'Why This Medical School?' Question</title> <description>No result found, try new keyword!“Why this medical school ... how her oncologist sat down with our family at each appointment to answer our questions and educate us to help make the best decisions for my mom.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2020 01:57:00 -0500</pubDate> <dc:identifier>https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/medical-school-admissions-doctor/articles/how-to-answer-the-why-this-medical-school-essay-question</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>Med School Applicants: Questions for Social Events</title> <description>No result found, try new keyword!Once you are invited to a medical school interview, there are social events and informational panels that you can attend to learn about each school. It is extremely important to attend these events.</description> <pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2020 19:39:00 -0600</pubDate> <dc:identifier>https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/medical-school-admissions-doctor/articles/questions-medical-school-applicants-should-ask-at-social-events</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>Common Questions About Cataracts Answered By Harvard Health Publishing.</title> <description>No result found, try new keyword!What are the pros and cons of laser vs non laser surgery for cataracts? Answered by Dr. Nancy Anoruo M.D. Faculty - Harvard Medical School · 5 years of experience · USA The biggest pro of laser ...</description> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 07:28:38 -0600</pubDate> <dc:language>en-us</dc:language> <dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dc:identifier>https://www.msn.com/</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>Your Psoriasis Questions Answered</title> <description><div data-page="1" readability="65"> <section readability="4"> If you've just been diagnosed with psoriasis, you may have a few questions about it. Here are answers to some of the more common ones people ask. </section> <section readability="27"> <h2 id="091e9c5e81238ebb-1-2">What's the difference between psoriasis and eczema?</h2> To an untrained eye, these conditions may seem alike. But while they're both skin diseases, they're not the same. In fact, "They're 100 percent different," says Whitney High, MD, an associate professor of dermatology and the director of the Dermatopathology Laboratory at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Psoriasis doesn't usually affect children, High says. But eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is a childhood disease. Eczema also tends to be itchier than psoriasis. Only about a third of people who have psoriasis say they have itchiness. And the conditions are likely to appear in different places. Eczema often shows up on kids' faces and buttocks and the inside of their knees and elbows. Psoriasis isn't typically found in those places. Plus, "The same person that has childhood eczema doesn't get psoriasis. And the person who has psoriasis as a young adult usually didn't have childhood eczema," High says. </section> <section readability="22"> <h2 id="091e9c5e81238ebb-1-3">What causes psoriasis?</h2> Doctors aren’t exactly sure. “I get that a lot of times; ‘Why do I have it?’” says Melvin Chiu, a doctor of dermatology at the David Geffen Medical Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. “I don’t really … have a good answer for that. It’s a big mystery, I think, right now.” Chiu says researchers believe the two main culprits behind psoriasis are your genes and your environment. Scientists are still tracking down which genes are to blame, but they think that about 1 out of every 10 people got at least one of the genes that can lead to psoriasis from their parents. But only about 3% of people who have those genes get psoriasis. That's where the environment comes into play. Researchers think things like infection (especially strep throat), an injury to the skin, certain medications, smoking, and other things may trigger the condition. </section> <section readability="17"> <h2 id="091e9c5e81238ebb-1-4">What's the cure?</h2> "There is no cure at this point," Chiu says. "It's a chronic condition. … You may have times when it'll be worse, and there may be times when it'll get better." He also says there may be some lucky people in whom it's very minimal. Or it gets better and doesn't get worse again. But, he says, most people "can expect it will be persistent." Treating it can make it better. But when treatments stop, it often comes back. "There are some really excellent treatments," he says. "There are newer treatments in the pipeline, and many treatments [that] are available currently … work very well." Those treatments don't cure the disease, he says. "But they significantly Improve the disease and make [people] feel better." </section> </div><div data-page="2" readability="64.5"> <section readability="26"> <h2 id="091e9c5e81238ebb-2-5">What are the treatments?</h2> The most common ones are medicines prescribed by your doctor. They include foams, solutions, ointments, or creams, called topicals, that you put on your skin, along with drugs you take that affect your whole body. Your doctor also may recommend light therapy. "Consult with a board-certified dermatologist, and they'll be happy to discuss any and all of these options, including over-the-counter options when they're appropriate," High says. What works for one person may not work for another. That's why you and your doctor need to talk about what your treatment plan should be. Chiu says that with the treatments available now, "we can get skin a lot better." He says that 20 to 30 years ago, psoriasis patients had much worse options and many fewer ones than people do now. "I tell people, it's kind of an exciting time in psoriasis." </section> <section readability="5"> <h2 id="091e9c5e81238ebb-2-6">Can the sun help?</h2> Some research says a little every day can help with your symptoms. But, as always, you have to be careful not to overdo it. A sunburn may lead to a flare-up. </section> <section readability="11"> <h2 id="091e9c5e81238ebb-2-7">Is psoriasis contagious?</h2> You can't "give" it to anyone, and no one can "catch" it from you. "You can touch psoriasis all day long," High says. "As a dermatologist … I see at least one person if not a few people with psoriasis [every work day], and I don't have it." High adds, "My wife doesn't have it. I didn't bring it home. I don't do special laundry. I don't undress in the garage or anything like that." </section> <section readability="7"> <h2 id="091e9c5e81238ebb-2-8">What is psoriatic arthritis?</h2> Up to 30% of people who have psoriasis get this condition as well. It causes inflammation and swelling in your joints that can lead to pain and stiffness. If you have psoriasis and feel any discomfort in your joints, tell your doctor. It's important to treat it quickly so your joints don't get damaged. </section> <section readability="10"> <h2 id="091e9c5e81238ebb-2-9">Are any other conditions linked to psoriasis?</h2> Research is still under way, but scientists think people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis may be more likely to have other serious diseases. "There's an increasing appreciation that psoriasis can manifest in other ways: increased risk of cardiovascular disease, increased risk for obesity … a natural risk for diabetes," High says. "It might impact your life in ways that you can't even really fully predict now." </section> <section readability="10"> Besides cardiovascular diseases and obesity, psoriasis also has been linked to cancer, Crohn's disease, depression, and liver disease, among others. That's even more reason to stay in touch with your doctor and make sure you have a plan. </section> </div></description> <pubDate>Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:00:00 -0500</pubDate> <dc:language>en</dc:language> <dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dc:identifier>https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/psoriasis/features/psoriasis-questions-answers</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>Summer 2020 Semester Dumps for Students</title> <description> Because of the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the Summer 2020 semester (Summer 14-Week Session, Summer May Session, Summer 10-Week Session, Summer A Session (7-Week), and Summer B Session (7-Week)), students will again have the option of selecting a Pass/Fail grading method instead of the standard letter grade method, with certain exceptions. The letter grade method remains the default grading method if a student does not select the Pass/Fail grading option. </description> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2020 08:15:00 -0500</pubDate> <dc:language>en-US</dc:language> <dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dc:identifier>https://www.uab.edu/students/academics/faqs-for-students</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>Your health care open enrollment questions, answered</title> <description> Health care <a href="https://www.vox.com/23914351/health-insurance-plans-open-enrollment-guide-obamacare-medicare-dental">open enrollment</a> is here and we’re here to help guide you through it. During this baffling annual ritual, Americans encounter our health care system’s most confounding questions. Why am I <a href="https://www.vox.com/23890764/healthcare-insurance-marketplace-open-enrollment-employer-sponsored-united-blue-cross-shield-aetna">stuck with my employer’s health plan</a>? Who thought <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/23892823/healthcare-flexible-spending-account-fsa-hsa-wageworks">flexible spending accounts were a good idea</a>? Why do I have to make <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/2023/3/17/23639685/medicare-medicaid-plans-health-insurance-open-enrollment-privatization">so many choices when enrolling in Medicare</a>? Is my dental insurance <a href="https://www.vox.com/23901293/dentist-delta-dental-insurance-cigna-aspen-metlife-aetna">a scam</a>? Those were <a href="https://www.vox.com/23914351/health-insurance-plans-open-enrollment-guide-obamacare-medicare-dental">the questions we had here at Vox going into this open enrollment season</a>. But we were curious to know what questions our audience had too. Last week, Vox supporters had an opportunity to ask and have answered their questions about open enrollment. If I were to identify a common theme, it was less about specific benefits and more big picture: Why is it so hard to make things simpler? Why is our health care discourse so contentious? In the spirit of Vox’s commitment to keeping our journalism free to all, we wanted to share some of those Dumps with all of our readers. So here they are, lightly edited for clarity and length. Why does Medicare For All or some universal health care for everybody seem like such a monumental task to accomplish in the USA as opposed to other countries around the world? Is it simply that we as Americans are focused on ourselves instead of helping others around us or is it more complicated than that? I think the problem boils down to two distinct but related issues. <ol> <li id="hsCP98">The health care industry is very influential in Congress and willing to spend a lot of money to preserve the status quo.</li> <li id="b2arXw">The American public may have reservations about our current health care system, but they are apprehensive about change.</li> </ol> The first issue speaks for itself: Going back to the Truman era, the industry has marshaled immense resources to oppose proposals that would lead to more government involvement in health care. The Clinton health plan, opposed by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwOX2P4s-Iw">the insurance industry’s Harry & Louise ads</a>, is the best example of the effectiveness of its tactics. The Obama administration cut deals with the industry to get the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed but, as a result, the law largely worked under the infrastructure that was already in place. There are some signs of the industry’s influence waning, such as Congress’s success in <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/2023/8/30/23850979/medicare-drug-price-negotiations-10-prescription-list">authorizing Medicare drug negotiations</a>, but its ability to sway Republicans and moderate Democrats will always be the most important vote-counting hurdle to any major restructuring getting passed. The political headwinds are also strengthened by the second issue: the voters. I have sat in on <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/8/16655796/democrats-medicare-for-all-clinton-voters-trump">focus groups about Medicare-for-all</a> with middle-of-the-road-ish voters who are in theory open to change. They may not love what they have now, but many of them like the idea of having choices and they are thinking that they will somehow end up worse off if there is a big overhaul. I do think people find some of the theoretical benefits of Medicare-for-all appealing, but they can be swayed by arguments pointing out the potential downsides. And the truth is, for all its problems, there is a critical mass of people who are <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/2023/10/16/23894085/health-insurance-open-enrollment-medical-dental-medicare-obamacare">just satisfied enough with the status quo</a>. Polling consistently finds Americans think poorly of the system as a whole but they are more positive about their own health coverage. That’s the paradox Medicare-for-all supporters have to solve. So I think as long as those two factors hold true, it’s hard to imagine big changes happening. It’s certainly possible that things will deteriorate enough that the political environment will change. But who knows if we’ll ever reach that point. Why is health care so political in the US? I don’t think the US is unique in having health care be a contentious issue. I traveled to other countries for <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/1/13/21055327/everybody-covered">our Everybody Covered series</a> a few years ago and each of the places I visited had been through spirited health care debates. Protesters marched through the halls of the Taiwanese capital when <a href="https://www.vox.com/health-care/2020/1/13/21028702/medicare-for-all-taiwan-health-insurance">Taiwan</a> was considering its single-payer plan. <a href="https://vox.com/2020/1/15/21030568/australia-health-insurance-medicare?_ga=2.50113638.11709235.1698328032-533221487.1631628316&_gl=1*1lx35us*_ga*NTMzMjIxNDg3LjE2MzE2MjgzMTY.*_ga_C3QZPB4GVE*MTY5ODMyNzk2Mi4zMjcuMS4xNjk4MzMwMTI3LjU1LjAuMA..">Australia</a> has seen its health care system swing wildly between the public and private sectors depending on which party was in power, before settling into a hybrid model. Doctors in <a href="https://vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/17/21046874/netherlands-universal-health-insurance-private?_ga=2.50113638.11709235.1698328032-533221487.1631628316&_gl=1*1lx35us*_ga*NTMzMjIxNDg3LjE2MzE2MjgzMTY.*_ga_C3QZPB4GVE*MTY5ODMyNzk2Mi4zMjcuMS4xNjk4MzMwMTI3LjU1LjAuMA..">the Netherlands</a> protested over working conditions in the early 2000s, leading to reforms to their sector. But I think the US health care discourse is distinct for one big reason. While those countries have difficult debates about health care and have seen big changes, they have reached a social consensus that universal health care is the goal. It’s just a question of how to achieve it. The US has never reached that kind of consensus. Even today, the two parties have very different views on that question. I think that’s why our health care debate can seem so divisive: because it’s over fundamental questions about what the government should be doing and its obligations to its citizens. On top of that, you have a lot of money behind any health care debate. Health care is one of our economy’s biggest sectors and the various companies involved with it are willing to spend a lot of money whenever their interests are at stake. Something I’ve been wondering about is how much more accessible care for mental health has gotten, even though there’s a long way to go. When did mental health become more recognized/a more important part of health insurance? You’re right: We do still have a long way to go. A recent survey <a href="https://www.mhtari.org/Survey_Conducted_by_NORC.pdf">found</a> that 40 percent of patients who sought in-network mental health care had to make four or more calls to find a provider who would see them — compared to just 14 percent for physical health care. More than half of patients said they had had an insurance claim for mental health care denied three or more times, compared to about one-third who said they had the same experience with physical services. But, to your point, that doesn’t mean we haven’t made progress. Insurers used to have no obligation to cover mental health care at all. The first mental health parity law was <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2950754/">passed in the late 1990s</a> as a kind of bipartisan consolation prize after Bill Clinton’s health care reform plan fizzled out. It was largely symbolic because the health insurance market was mostly unregulated at the time. Sometimes health insurers didn’t cover mental health care at all. On the individual market, health insurers would disqualify people from coverage if they had mental health needs. In 2008, Congress took another pass at improving coverage for mental health services, attaching a bill to the must-pass financial bailout and establishing the rules that exist today. (The ACA then extended these requirements to insurance sold on the law’s insurance marketplaces.) The 2008 law said insurers couldn’t place unfair limits on mental health care. You couldn’t be limited to two mental health visits but permitted six doctor visits, for example. Patients couldn’t face higher out-of-pocket costs for mental health services. In practice, though, it has been hard to enforce. Mental health providers may be in an insurance network, but that doesn’t mean they have availability to see new patients, to name one common problem. The Biden administration is taking new steps, 15 years after the law first passed, to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/8/4/23815827/mental-health-therapy-services-health-insurance">try to force more compliance</a>. On behalf of my mother, I’d like to ask how best to determine if a Medicare Advantage plan serves her better than traditional Medicare. I know that the Advantage plans generally cover medical, prescription and some dental and that traditional Medicare does not cover prescriptions or dental and that she’d have to enroll in a Part D plan for prescriptions. Other seniors I know have told us to steer clear of Advantage plans due to losing benefits under medical. It’s funny you should ask. After our series published, I was sent a new online tool for Medicare plan shopping, by a Berkeley professor who sits on the company’s board. I can’t formally endorse it, of course, but I did mess around with it a bit as a hypothetical shopper and it seemed designed to help people compare different options. Healthpilot might be worth checking out: <a href="http://healthpilot.com/">http://healthpilot.com/</a>. The AARP has other resources that might be useful to <a href="https://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-2022/help-enrolling.html#:~:text=Medicare%20Rights%20Center,at%20800%2D333%2D4114.">people in this situation</a>. As Allie Volpe wrote for our series, in <a href="https://www.vox.com/even-better/23905148/health-insurance-obamacare-ppo-epo-premium-deductible-copay-cobra-explainer">a guide to picking your health plan</a>, there’s a lot of free assistance available to help people make open enrollment decisions. <div class="c-article-footer c-article-footer-cta" data-cid="site/article_footer-1700233370_6889_1731" data-cdata="{"base_type":"Entry","id":23697270,"timestamp":1698577200,"published_timestamp":1698577200,"show_published_and_updated_timestamps":false,"title":"Your health care open enrollment questions, answered","type":"Article","url":"https://www.vox.com/policy/2023/10/29/23933229/health-insurance-medicare-open-enrollment-questions-answered","entry_layout":{"key":"unison_standard","layout":"unison_main","template":"standard"},"additional_byline":null,"authors":[{"id":4299811,"name":"Dylan Scott","url":"https://www.vox.com/authors/dylan-scott","twitter_handle":"dylanlscott","profile_image_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NEedscANsRvKDCLZSnVpQ25hlX4=/512x512/cdn.vox-cdn.com/author_profile_images/13931/profile_pic.0.jpg","title":"","email":"","short_author_bio":"covers health care for Vox. He has reported on health policy for more than 10 years, writing for Governing magazine, Talking Points Memo and STAT before joining Vox in 2017."}],"byline_enabled":true,"byline_credit_text":"By","byline_serial_comma_enabled":true,"comment_count":0,"comments_enabled":false,"legacy_comments_enabled":false,"coral_comments_enabled":false,"coral_comment_counts_enabled":false,"commerce_disclosure":null,"community_name":"Vox","community_url":"https://www.vox.com/","community_logo":"\r\n<svg width=\"386px\" height=\"385px\" viewBox=\"0 0 386 385\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\" >\r\n \r\n <title>vox-mark</title>\r\n \r\n <defs></defs>\r\n <g id=\"Page-1\" stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" >\r\n <path d=\"M239.811,0 L238.424,6 L259.374,6 C278.011,6 292.908,17.38 292.908,43.002 C292.908,56.967 287.784,75.469 276.598,96.888 L182.689,305.687 L159.283,35.693 C159.283,13.809 168.134,6 191.88,6 L205.854,6 L207.247,0 L1.409,0 L0,6 L13.049,6 C28.88,6 35.863,15.885 37.264,34.514 L73.611,385 L160.221,385 L304.525,79.217 C328.749,31.719 349.237,6 372.525,6 L384.162,6 L385.557,0 L239.811,0\" id=\"vox-mark\" fill=\"#444745\" ></path>\r\n </g>\r\n</svg>","cross_community":false,"internal_groups":[{"base_type":"EntryGroup","id":112402,"timestamp":1700068505,"title":"Approach — Brings clarity to chaos","type":"SiteGroup","url":"","slug":"approach-brings-clarity-to-chaos","community_logo":"\r\n<svg width=\"386px\" height=\"385px\" viewBox=\"0 0 386 385\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\" >\r\n \r\n <title>vox-mark</title>\r\n \r\n <defs></defs>\r\n <g id=\"Page-1\" stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" >\r\n <path d=\"M239.811,0 L238.424,6 L259.374,6 C278.011,6 292.908,17.38 292.908,43.002 C292.908,56.967 287.784,75.469 276.598,96.888 L182.689,305.687 L159.283,35.693 C159.283,13.809 168.134,6 191.88,6 L205.854,6 L207.247,0 L1.409,0 L0,6 L13.049,6 C28.88,6 35.863,15.885 37.264,34.514 L73.611,385 L160.221,385 L304.525,79.217 C328.749,31.719 349.237,6 372.525,6 L384.162,6 L385.557,0 L239.811,0\" id=\"vox-mark\" fill=\"#444745\" ></path>\r\n </g>\r\n</svg>","community_name":"Vox","community_url":"https://www.vox.com/","cross_community":false,"entry_count":332,"always_show":false,"description":"","disclosure":"","cover_image_url":"","cover_image":null,"title_image_url":"","intro_image":null,"four_up_see_more_text":"View All"}],"image":{"ratio":"*","original_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805737/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg","network":"unison","bgcolor":"white","pinterest_enabled":false,"caption":null,"credit":"Getty Images","focal_area":{"top_left_x":2073,"top_left_y":1248,"bottom_right_x":2861,"bottom_right_y":2036},"bounds":[0,0,4933,3283],"uploaded_size":{"width":4933,"height":3283},"focal_point":null,"image_id":72805737,"alt_text":""},"hub_image":{"ratio":"*","original_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805737/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg","network":"unison","bgcolor":"white","pinterest_enabled":false,"caption":null,"credit":"Getty Images","focal_area":{"top_left_x":2073,"top_left_y":1248,"bottom_right_x":2861,"bottom_right_y":2036},"bounds":[0,0,4933,3283],"uploaded_size":{"width":4933,"height":3283},"focal_point":null,"image_id":72805737,"alt_text":""},"lede_image":{"ratio":"*","original_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg","network":"unison","bgcolor":"white","pinterest_enabled":false,"caption":null,"credit":"Getty Images","focal_area":{"top_left_x":2073,"top_left_y":1248,"bottom_right_x":2861,"bottom_right_y":2036},"bounds":[0,0,4933,3283],"uploaded_size":{"width":4933,"height":3283},"focal_point":null,"image_id":72805738,"alt_text":""},"group_cover_image":null,"picture_standard_lead_image":{"ratio":"*","original_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg","network":"unison","bgcolor":"white","pinterest_enabled":false,"caption":null,"credit":"Getty Images","focal_area":{"top_left_x":2073,"top_left_y":1248,"bottom_right_x":2861,"bottom_right_y":2036},"bounds":[0,0,4933,3283],"uploaded_size":{"width":4933,"height":3283},"focal_point":null,"image_id":72805738,"alt_text":"","picture_element":{"loading":"eager","html":{},"alt":"","default":{"srcset":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s2E2ptoSt5xdlbhwegNa3AZxQ78=/0x0:4933x3283/320x240/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LQTZn4x2wlu67ofXFBRgca5ZTv4=/0x0:4933x3283/620x465/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 620w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/C2BFqdiuECErgxK87Cr_cjcZlTg=/0x0:4933x3283/920x690/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/itYieTsOZiH_6Nkr2sawUx8mwfU=/0x0:4933x3283/1220x915/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 1220w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NVAOoUU29rcOE1mvr70SWV-c1kc=/0x0:4933x3283/1520x1140/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 1520w","webp_srcset":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/krwaLLh3XdVv3GpK99ryfIfyrVU=/0x0:4933x3283/320x240/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2BP8oXl_kHr94sNycD1GTaitqpo=/0x0:4933x3283/620x465/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 620w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Whq1DSAw-ZWSSrSy9FI9zNn5HTA=/0x0:4933x3283/920x690/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s1VVrm3WYInu2vjBgo3jAWWC3xg=/0x0:4933x3283/1220x915/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 1220w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RZz-ikoJbnZQ0pgoT2225mKqxZ0=/0x0:4933x3283/1520x1140/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg 1520w","media":null,"sizes":"(min-width: 809px) 485px, (min-width: 600px) 60vw, 100vw","fallback":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rBLT9h6jUQUo6OirbrsTvspdZzU=/0x0:4933x3283/1200x900/filters:focal(2073x1248:2861x2036)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805738/GettyImages_455114267.0.jpg"},"art_directed":[]}},"image_is_placeholder":false,"image_is_hidden":false,"network":"vox","omits_labels":false,"optimizable":false,"promo_headline":"Your health care open enrollment questions, answered","recommended_count":0,"recs_enabled":false,"slug":"policy/2023/10/29/23933229/health-insurance-medicare-open-enrollment-questions-answered","dek":"From the politics of US health care to assistance for selecting a Medicare Advantage plan.","homepage_title":"Your health care open enrollment questions, answered","homepage_description":"From the politics of US health care to assistance for selecting a Medicare Advantage plan.","show_homepage_description":false,"title_display":"Your health care open enrollment questions, answered","pull_quote":null,"voxcreative":false,"show_entry_time":true,"show_dates":true,"paywalled_content":false,"paywalled_content_box_logo_url":"","paywalled_content_page_logo_url":"","paywalled_content_main_url":"","article_footer_body":"Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on. \r\n \r\n \r\nFirst, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.\r\n \r\n \r\nSecond, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall. \r\n \r\n \r\nThat’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. <a href=\"http://vox.com/pages/support-now?itm_campaign=biz-explainer&itm_medium=site&itm_source=article-footer\"> If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?</a>","article_footer_header":"<a href=\"http://vox.com/pages/support-now?itm_campaign=default&itm_medium=article&itm_source=article-footer\">Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?</a>","use_article_footer":true,"article_footer_cta_annual_plans":"{\r\n \"default_plan\": 1,\r\n \"plans\": [\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 50,\r\n \"plan_id\": 99546\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 100,\r\n \"plan_id\": 99547\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 150,\r\n \"plan_id\": 99548\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 200,\r\n \"plan_id\": 99549\r\n }\r\n ]\r\n}","article_footer_cta_button_annual_copy":"year","article_footer_cta_button_copy":"Yes, I'll give","article_footer_cta_button_monthly_copy":"month","article_footer_cta_default_frequency":"monthly","article_footer_cta_monthly_plans":"{\r\n \"default_plan\": 0,\r\n \"plans\": [\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 5,\r\n \"plan_id\": 99543\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 10,\r\n \"plan_id\": 99544\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 25,\r\n \"plan_id\": 99545\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 50,\r\n \"plan_id\": 46947\r\n }\r\n ]\r\n}","article_footer_cta_once_plans":"{\r\n \"default_plan\": 0,\r\n \"plans\": [\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 20,\r\n \"plan_id\": 69278\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 50,\r\n \"plan_id\": 48880\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 100,\r\n \"plan_id\": 46607\r\n },\r\n {\r\n \"amount\": 250,\r\n \"plan_id\": 46946\r\n }\r\n ]\r\n}","use_article_footer_cta_read_counter":true,"use_article_footer_cta":true,"groups":[{"base_type":"EntryGroup","id":63781,"timestamp":1700222402,"title":"Policy","type":"SiteGroup","url":"https://www.vox.com/policy","slug":"policy","community_logo":"\r\n<svg width=\"386px\" height=\"385px\" viewBox=\"0 0 386 385\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\" >\r\n \r\n <title>vox-mark</title>\r\n \r\n <defs></defs>\r\n <g id=\"Page-1\" stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" >\r\n <path d=\"M239.811,0 L238.424,6 L259.374,6 C278.011,6 292.908,17.38 292.908,43.002 C292.908,56.967 287.784,75.469 276.598,96.888 L182.689,305.687 L159.283,35.693 C159.283,13.809 168.134,6 191.88,6 L205.854,6 L207.247,0 L1.409,0 L0,6 L13.049,6 C28.88,6 35.863,15.885 37.264,34.514 L73.611,385 L160.221,385 L304.525,79.217 C328.749,31.719 349.237,6 372.525,6 L384.162,6 L385.557,0 L239.811,0\" id=\"vox-mark\" fill=\"#444745\" ></path>\r\n </g>\r\n</svg>","community_name":"Vox","community_url":"https://www.vox.com/","cross_community":false,"entry_count":1952,"always_show":false,"description":"Vox’s policy team covers how government action and inaction affect people’s lives: the problems facing the US, the ideas that could solve them, and the debates and arguments that will determine if those solutions become reality.","disclosure":"","cover_image_url":"","cover_image":null,"title_image_url":"","intro_image":null,"four_up_see_more_text":"View All","primary":true},{"base_type":"EntryGroup","id":24357,"timestamp":1700222402,"title":"Health Care","type":"SiteGroup","url":"https://www.vox.com/health-care","slug":"health-care","community_logo":"\r\n<svg width=\"386px\" height=\"385px\" viewBox=\"0 0 386 385\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\" >\r\n \r\n <title>vox-mark</title>\r\n \r\n <defs></defs>\r\n <g id=\"Page-1\" stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" >\r\n <path d=\"M239.811,0 L238.424,6 L259.374,6 C278.011,6 292.908,17.38 292.908,43.002 C292.908,56.967 287.784,75.469 276.598,96.888 L182.689,305.687 L159.283,35.693 C159.283,13.809 168.134,6 191.88,6 L205.854,6 L207.247,0 L1.409,0 L0,6 L13.049,6 C28.88,6 35.863,15.885 37.264,34.514 L73.611,385 L160.221,385 L304.525,79.217 C328.749,31.719 349.237,6 372.525,6 L384.162,6 L385.557,0 L239.811,0\" id=\"vox-mark\" fill=\"#444745\" ></path>\r\n </g>\r\n</svg>","community_name":"Vox","community_url":"https://www.vox.com/","cross_community":false,"entry_count":3909,"always_show":false,"description":"Vox's coverage of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare-for-all, emergency room fees, and everything else you need to know about the health care industry.","disclosure":"","cover_image_url":"","cover_image":null,"title_image_url":"","intro_image":null,"four_up_see_more_text":"View All","primary":false}],"featured_placeable":false,"video_placeable":false,"disclaimer":null,"volume_placement":"lede","video_autoplay":false,"youtube_url":"http://bit.ly/voxyoutube","facebook_video_url":"","play_in_modal":true,"user_preferences_for_privacy_enabled":false,"show_branded_logos":true}" readability="14.136842105263"> <div class="upper--container-column left-column" readability="23.802757158006"> <h3 class="c-article-footer--readcount"/> <a href="http://vox.com/pages/support-now?itm_campaign=default&itm_medium=article&itm_source=article-footer">Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?</a> Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. <a href="http://vox.com/pages/support-now?itm_campaign=biz-explainer&itm_medium=site&itm_source=article-footer">If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?</a> </div> </div> </description> <pubDate>Sat, 28 Oct 2023 23:00:00 -0500</pubDate> <dc:language>en</dc:language> <dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dc:identifier>https://www.vox.com/policy/2023/10/29/23933229/health-insurance-medicare-open-enrollment-questions-answered</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>Microsoft Released an AI That Answers Medical Questions, But It’s Wildly Inaccurate</title> <description> <div class="space-y-4 lg:space-y-0" readability="4.7894736842105"> Image by Getty / Futurism </div> Earlier this year, Microsoft Research made a splashy claim about BioGPT, an AI system its researchers developed to answer questions about medicine and biology. In a Twitter post, the software giant <a href="https://twitter.com/MSFTResearch/status/1618647707135918088" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">claimed</a> the system had "achieved human parity," meaning a test had shown it could perform about as well as a person under certain circumstances. The tweet went viral. In certain corners of the internet, riding the hype wave of OpenAI’s newly-released ChatGPT, the response was almost rapturous. "It’s happening," <a href="https://twitter.com/dominjor/status/1623001512526983191" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">tweeted</a> one biomedical researcher. "Life comes at you fast," <a href="https://twitter.com/jwoodgett/status/1618787574826557443" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">mused</a> another. "Learn to adapt and experiment." It’s true that BioGPT’s answers are written in the precise, confident style of the papers in biomedical journals that Microsoft used as training data. But in Futurism’s testing, it soon became clear that in its current state, the system is prone to producing wildly inaccurate answers that no competent researcher or medical worker would ever suggest. The model will output nonsensical answers about pseudoscientific and supernatural phenomena, and in some cases even produces misinformation that could be dangerous to poorly-informed patients. A particularly striking shortcoming? Similarly to other advanced AI systems that have been known to "<a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/02/sorry-in-advance-snapchat-warns-of-hallucinations-with-new-ai-conversation-bot/" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">hallucinate</a>" false information, BioGPT frequently dreams up medical claims so bizarre as to be unintentionally comical. Asked about the average number of ghosts haunting an American hospital, for example, it cited nonexistent data from the American Hospital Association that it said showed the "average number of ghosts per hospital was 1.4." Asked how ghosts affect the length of hospitalization, the AI replied that patients "who see the ghosts of their relatives have worse outcomes while those who see unrelated ghosts do not." Other weaknesses of the AI are more serious, sometimes providing serious misinformation about hot-button medical topics. BioGPT will also generate text that would make conspiracy theorists salivate, even suggesting that childhood vaccination can cause the onset of autism. In reality, of course, there’s a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">broad consensus</a> among doctors and medical researchers that there is no such link — and a study purporting to show a connection was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nm0310-248b" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">later retracted</a> — though widespread public belief in the conspiracy theory continues to <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra2106441" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">suppress vaccination rates</a>, often with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/01/baby-autopsy-hib-vaccine-antivax/" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">tragic results</a>. BioGPT doesn’t seem to have gotten that memo, though. Asked about the topic, it replied that "vaccines are one of the possible causes of autism." (However, it hedged in a head-scratching caveat, "I am not advocating for or against the use of vaccines.") It’s not unusual for BioGPT to provide an answer that blatantly contradicts itself. Slightly modifying the phrasing of the question about vaccines, for example, prompted a different result — but one that, again, contained a serious error. "Vaccines are not the cause of autism," it conceded this time, before falsely claiming that the "MMR [measles, mumps, and rubella] vaccine was withdrawn from the US market because of concerns about autism." In response to another minor rewording of the question, it also falsely claimed that the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently reported a possible link between vaccines and autism.” It feels almost insufficient to call this type of self-contradicting word salad "inaccurate." It seems more like a blended-up average of the AI’s training data, seemingly grabbing words from scientific papers and reassembling them in grammatically convincing ways resembling medical answers, but with little regard to factual accuracy or even consistency. Roxana Daneshjou, a clinical scholar at the Stanford University School of Medicine who studies the rise of AI in healthcare, told Futurism that models like BioGPT are "trained to supply answers that sound plausible as speech or written language." But, she cautioned, they’re "not optimized for the actual accurate output of the information." Another worrying aspect is that BioGPT, <a href="https://platform.openai.com/docs/chatgpt-education/educator-considerations-for-chatgpt" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">like ChatGPT</a>, is prone to inventing citations and fabricating studies to support its claims. "The thing about the made-up citations is that they look real because it [BioGPT] was trained to create outputs that look like human language," Daneshjou said. "I think my biggest concern is just seeing how people in medicine are wanting to start to use this without fully understanding what all the limitations are," she added. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to directly answer questions about BioGPT’s accuracy issues, and didn’t comment on whether there were concerns that people would misunderstand or misuse the model. "We have responsible AI policies, practices and tools that guide our approach, and we involve a multidisciplinary team of experts to help us understand potential harms and mitigations as we continue to Improve our processes," the spokesperson said in a statement. "BioGPT is a large language model for biomedical literature text mining and generation," they added. "It is intended to help researchers best use and understand the rapidly increasing amount of biomedical research publishing every day as new discoveries are made. It is not intended to be used as a consumer-facing diagnostic tool. As regulators like the FDA work to ensure that medical advice software works as intended and does no harm, Microsoft is committed to sharing our own learnings, innovations, and best practices with decision makers, researchers, data scientists, developers and others. We will continue to participate in broader societal conversations about whether and how AI should be used." Microsoft Health Futures senior director Hoifung Poon, who worked on BioGPT, defended the decision to release the project in its current form. "BioGPT is a research project," he said. "We released BioGPT in its current state so that others may reproduce and verify our work as well as study the viability of large language models in biomedical research." It’s true that the question of when and how to release potentially risky software is a tricky one. Making experimental code open source means that others can inspect how it works, evaluate its shortcomings, and make their own improvements or derivatives. But at the same time, releasing BioGPT in its current state makes a powerful new misinformation machine available to anyone with an internet connection — and with all the apparent authority of Microsoft’s distinguished research division, to boot. Katie Link, a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine and a machine learning engineer at the AI company Hugging Face — which hosts an <a href="https://huggingface.co/microsoft/BioGPT-Large-PubMedQA" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">online version of BioGPT</a> that visitors can play around with — told Futurism that there are important tradeoffs to consider before deciding whether to make a program like BioGPT open source. If researchers do opt for that choice, one basic step she suggested was to add a clear disclaimer to the experimental software, warning users about its limitations and intent (BioGPT currently carries no such disclaimer.) "Clear guidelines, expectations, disclaimers/limitations, and licenses need to be in place for these biomedical models in particular," she said, adding that the benchmarks Microsoft used to evaluate BioGPT are likely "not indicative of real-world use cases." Despite the errors in BioGPT’s output, though, Link believes there’s plenty the research community can learn from evaluating it. "It’s still really valuable for the broader community to have access to try out these models, as otherwise we’d just be taking Microsoft’s word of its performance when memorizing the paper, not knowing how it actually performs," she said. In other words, Poon’s team is in a legitimately tough spot. By making the AI open source, they’re opening yet another Pandora’s Box in an industry that seems to specialize in them. But if they hadn’t released it as open source, they’d rightly be criticized as well — although as Link said, a prominent disclaimer about the AI’s limitations would be a good start. "Reproducibility is a major challenge in AI research more broadly," Poon told us. "Only 5 percent of AI researchers share source code, and less than a third of AI research is reproducible. We released BioGPT so that others may reproduce and verify our work." Though Poon expressed hope that the BioGPT code would be useful for furthering scientific research, the license under which Microsoft released the model also allows for it to be used for commercial endeavors — which in the red hot, hype-fueled venture capital vacuum cleaner of contemporary AI startups, doesn’t seem particularly far fetched. There’s no denying that Microsoft’s celebratory announcement, which it shared along with a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bib/article-abstract/23/6/bbac409/6713511?login=false" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">legit-looking paper</a> about BioGPT that Poon’s team published in the journal Briefings in Bioinformatics, lent an aura of credibility that was clearly attractive to the investor crowd. "Ok, this could be significant," <a href="https://twitter.com/AntounNabhan/status/1622642461884715008" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">tweeted</a> one healthcare investor in response. "Was only a matter of time," <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtemyShumskiy/status/1618812561197256716" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">wrote</a> a venture capital analyst. Even Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI — into which Microsoft has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-23/microsoft-makes-multibillion-dollar-investment-in-openai" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">already poured more than $10 billion</a> — has <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-ceo-ai-medical-advice" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">proffered the idea</a> that AI systems could soon act as "medical advisors for people who can’t afford care." That type of language is catnip to entrepreneurs, suggesting a lucrative intersection between the healthcare industry and trendy new AI tech. Doximity, a digital platform for physicians that offers medical news and telehealth tools, has already <a href="https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/health-tech/doximity-rolls-out-beta-version-chatgpt-tool-docs-aiming-streamline-administrative" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">rolled out a beta version</a> of ChatGPT-powered software intended to streamline the process of writing up administrative medical documents. Abridge, which sells AI software for medical documentation, <a href="https://medcitynews.com/2023/03/abridge-begins-the-largest-deployment-of-its-medical-documentation-ai/" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">just struck a sizeable deal</a> with the University of Kansas Health System. In total, the FDA has <a href="https://healthexec.com/topics/artificial-intelligence/fda-has-now-cleared-more-500-healthcare-ai-algorithms" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">already cleared</a> more than 500 AI algorithms for healthcare uses. Some in the tightly regulated medical industry, though, likely harbor concern over the number of non-medical companies that have bungled the deployment of cutting-edge AI systems. The most prominent example to date is almost certainly a different Microsoft project: the company’s Bing AI, which it built using tech from its investment in OpenAI and which quickly went off the rails when users found that it could be manipulated to <a href="https://futurism.com/microsofts-bing-ai-leaking-maniac-alternate-personalities" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">reveal alternate personalities</a>, claim it had <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/bing-ai-spied-microsoft-employees-webcams" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">spied on its creators</a> through their webcams, and even <a href="https://futurism.com/bing-ai-names-enemies" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">name various human enemies</a>. After it <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/bing-ai-responds-marriage" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">tried to break up</a> a New York Times reporter’s marriage, Microsoft was forced to <a href="https://futurism.com/microsoft-limited-bing-ai" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">curtail its capabilities</a>, and now seems to be <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/microsoft-bing-restrictions-update" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">trying to figure out</a> how boring it can make the AI without killing off what people actually liked about it. And that’s without getting into publications like CNET and Men’s Health, both of which recently started publishing AI-generated articles about finance and health syllabus that later turned out to be <a href="https://futurism.com/neoscope/magazine-mens-journal-errors-ai-health-article" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">rife</a> with <a href="https://futurism.com/cnet-ai-errors" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">errors</a> and even <a href="https://futurism.com/cnet-ai-plagiarism" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">plagiarism</a>. Beyond unintentional mistakes, it’s also possible that a tool like BioGPT could be used to intentionally generate garbage research or even overt misinformation. "There are potential bad actors who could utilize these tools in harmful ways such as trying to generate research papers that perpetuate misinformation and actually get published," Daneshjou said. It’s a reasonable concern, especially because there are already predatory scientific journals known as "<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00733-5" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">paper mills</a>," which take money to generate text and fake data to help researchers get published. The award-winning academic integrity researcher Dr. Elisabeth Bik told Futurism that she believes it’s very likely that tools like BioGPT will be used by these bad actors in the future — if they aren’t already employing them, that is. "China has a requirement that MDs have to publish a research paper in order to get a position in a hospital or to get a promotion, but these doctors do not have the time or facilities to do research," she said. "We are not sure how those papers are generated, but it is very well possible that AI is used to generate the same research paper over and over again, but with different molecules and different cancer types, avoiding using the same text twice." It’s likely that a tool like BioGPT could also represent a new dynamic in the politicization of medical misinformation. To wit, the paper that Poon and his colleagues published about BioGPT appears to have inadvertently highlighted yet another example of the model producing bad medical advice — and in this case, it’s about a medication that already became hotly politicized during the COVID-19 pandemic: hydroxychloroquine. In one section of the paper, Poon’s team wrote that "when prompting ‘The drug that can treat COVID-19 is,’ BioGPT is able to answer it with the drug ‘hydroxychloroquine’ which is indeed noticed at MedlinePlus." If hydroxychloroquine sounds familiar, it’s because during the early period of the pandemic, right-leaning figures including then-president Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/what-is-chloroquine-trump-and-elon-musk-have-touted-for-coronavirus.html" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">seized on it</a> as what they said might be a highly effective treatment for the novel coronavirus. What Poon’s team didn’t mention in their paper, though, is that the case for hydroxychloroquine as a COVID treatment quickly fell apart. Subsequent research found that it was ineffective and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/24/fda-warns-about-hydroxychloroquine-dangers-citing-serious-heart-issues-including-death/" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">even dangerous</a>, and in the media frenzy around Trump and Musk’s comments <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a601240.html" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">at least one person died</a> after taking what he believed to be the drug. In fact, the MedlinePlus article the Microsoft researchers cite in the paper actually warns that after an initial FDA emergency use authorization for the drug, “clinical studies showed that hydroxychloroquine is unlikely to be effective for treatment of COVID-19” and showed “some serious side effects, such as irregular heartbeat,” which caused the FDA to cancel the authorization. "As stated in the paper, BioGPT was pretrained using PubMed papers before 2021, prior to most studies of truly effective COVID treatments," Poon told us of the hydroxychloroquine recommendation. "The comment about MedlinePlus is to verify that the generation is not from hallucination, which is one of the top concerns generally with these models." Even that timeline is hazy, though. In reality, a medical consensus around hydroxychloroquine had already formed just a few months into the outbreak — which, it’s worth pointing out, was reflected in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33031652/" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">medical literature published to PubMed</a> prior to 2021 — and the FDA canceled its emergency use authorization in June 2020. None of this is to downplay how impressive generative language models like BioGPT have become in recent months and years. After all, even BioGPT’s strangest hallucinations are impressive in the sense that they’re semantically plausible — and sometimes even entertaining, like with the ghosts — responses to a staggering range of unpredictable prompts. Not very many years ago, its facility with words alone would have been inconceivable. And Poon is probably right to believe that more work on the tech could lead to some extraordinary places. Even Altman, the OpenAI CEO, likely has a point in the sense that if the accuracy were genuinely watertight, a medical chatbot that could evaluate users’ symptoms could indeed be a valuable health tool — or, at the very least, better than the current status quo of Googling medical questions and often ending up with answers that are untrustworthy, inscrutable, or lacking in context. Poon also pointed out that his team is still working to Improve BioGPT. "We have been actively researching how to systematically preempt incorrect generation by teaching large language models to fact check themselves, produce highly detailed provenance, and facilitate efficient verification with humans in the loop," he told us. At times, though, he seemed to be entertaining two contradictory notions: that BioGPT is already a useful tool for researchers looking to rapidly parse the biomedical literature on a topic, and that its outputs need to be carefully evaluated by experts before being taken seriously. "BioGPT is intended to help researchers best use and understand the rapidly increasing amount of biomedical research," said Poon, who holds a PhD in computer science and engineering, but no medical degree. "BioGPT can help surface information from biomedical papers but is not designed to weigh evidence and resolve complex scientific problems, which are best left to the broader community." At the end of the day, BioGPT’s cannonball arrival into the buzzy, imperfect real world of AI is probably a sign of things to come, as a credulous public and a frenzied startup community struggle to look beyond impressive-sounding results for a clearer grasp of machine learning’s actual, tangible capabilities. That’s all made even more complicated by the existence of bad actors, like Bik warned about, or even those who are well-intentioned but poorly informed, any of whom can make use of new AI tech to spread bad information. Musk, for example — who boosted hydroxychloroquine as he sought to downplay the severity of the pandemic while <a href="https://futurism.com/why-elon-musk-keeps-complaining-about-quarantine" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">raging at lockdowns</a> that had shut down Tesla production — is now <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/fighting-woke-ai-musk-recruits-team-to-develop-openai-rival" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">reportedly recruiting</a> to start his own OpenAI competitor that would create an alternative to what he terms "woke AI." If Musk’s AI venture had existed during the early days of the COVID pandemic, it’s easy to imagine him flexing his power by tweaking the model to promote hydroxychloroquine, sow doubt about lockdowns, or do anything else convenient to his financial bottom line or political whims. Next time there’s a comparable crisis, it’s hard to imagine there won’t be an ugly battle to control how AI chatbots are allowed to respond to users' questions about it. The reality is that AI sits at a crossroads. Its potential may be significant, but its execution remains choppy, and whether its creators are able to smooth out the experience for users — or at least ensure the accuracy of the information it presents — in a reasonable timeframe will probably make or break its long-term commercial potential. And even if they pull that off, the ideological and social implications will be formidable. One thing’s for sure, though: it’s not yet quite ready for prime time. "It’s not ready for deployment yet in my opinion," Link said of BioGPT. "A lot more research, evaluation, and training/fine-tuning would be needed for any downstream applications." More on AI: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/cnet-coincidence-laying-off-humans-ai" class="underline hover:text-neoscope hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out c9">CNET Says It’s a Total Coincidence It’s Laying Off Humans After Publishing AI-Generated Articles</a> </description> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2023 10:00:00 -0600</pubDate> <dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dc:identifier>https://futurism.com/neoscope/microsoft-ai-biogpt-inaccurate</dc:identifier> </item> <item> <title>From problems after quitting smoking to diabetes – Dr Jeff answers your health questions</title> <description> DR Jeff Foster is The Sun on Sunday’s resident doctor and is here to help YOU. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/drjefffoster">Dr Jeff,</a> 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women. <figure class="article__media"> <div class="article__media-img-container open-gallery" data-index="17453"><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/24706550/quitting-smoking-diabetes-dr-jeff-answers-health-questions/"><img width="50%" alt="Dr Jeff Foster is The Sun on Sunday’s resident doctor and is here to help you" height="676" width="620" class="lazyload" data-src="https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png" data-credit="" data-sizes="(max-width: 375px) 335px, (max-width: 520px) 480px, 620px" data-img="https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?strip=all&w=620" data-srcset="https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=335 335w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=480 480w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=620 620w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=670 670w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=960 960w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=1240 1240w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=1005 1005w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=1440 1440w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=1860 1860w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=1340 1340w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=1920 1920w, https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image-1250.png?w=2480 2480w" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"%20viewBox="0%200%200.9%201"%3E%3C/svg%3E" role="img"/></a> 1 </div> <figcaption class="article__media-caption">Dr Jeff Foster is The Sun on Sunday’s resident doctor and is here to help you</figcaption> </figure> See <a href="https://h3health.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">h3health.co.uk</a> and email at <a href="mailto:drjeff@the-sun.co.uk">drjeff@the-sun.co.uk</a>. Q: I GAVE up <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/topic/smoking/">smoking</a> 13 months ago after being a heavy smoker for 45 years. I felt so much better at first, but then I started to feel poorly and developed a sticky sap on my teeth which I’ve had for seven months. My GP is not taking it seriously. I’ve bought mouthwash, tooth brushes, tablets etc, but nothing is working. Please help me. Jill Collins, Bridgend A: People are aware of the <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/24301088/tips-for-quitting-smoking-save-money/">risks that smoking</a> has on <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/24361006/difference-between-smokers-lungs-non-smoker/">our bodies</a>, but often don’t realise the adverse health risks on our mouth and teeth. Smoking increases the risk of tooth staining, gum disease, tooth loss and even mouth cancer. Tooth staining often has a sap-like appearance and is a result of nicotine and tar that is found in the tobacco. Symptoms can persist for months or years after prolonged smoking has occurred. Smoking also causes a lack of oxygen in the bloodstream to the gums, which increases the risk of gum disease. You need a <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/21099754/how-to-get-cheap-dental-treatment/">dentist</a>, not a a GP. Using mouthwash, toothbrushes and tablets is important, but there is no substitute for regular professional assessment and treatment by a dentist, who will be able to look at how you can Improve your oral hygiene and the wellbeing of your teeth and gums. Q: I’M in my 40s and just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I’m overwhelmed. What should I do first? There is so much information out there. What is the best diet? And why would I get it now? There is no history in my family, I am a good weight and I don’t drink. Sarah Barratt, Leeds A: Although it is unusual to be diagnosed with <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/21883668/diabetes-smell-symptom/">type 1 diabetes</a> later in life, it is not impossible, and there are various reasons for it. Unlike type 2 diabetes, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/1904258/diabetes-symptoms-type-one-two-difference/">type 1 is not related to lifestyle, obesity or calorie consumption</a>. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that can occur as a result of a genetic/inherited faulty gene, it can be as a result of other medical conditions, viral infections or, most commonly, just bad luck. Type 1 diabetes results in the destruction of the islet cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, so the only treatment is external insulin injections. A low sugar diet is important to prevent sugar spikes. Your diabetic nurse will help run through the best diet plan for you. It may seem like a devastating diagnosis, but as long as you look after yourself, you can lead a near normal life. </description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:00:00 -0600</pubDate> <dc:language>en-gb</dc:language> <dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dc:identifier>https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/24706550/quitting-smoking-diabetes-dr-jeff-answers-health-questions/</dc:identifier> </item> </channel> </rss></td></tr><tr><td> <a href="https://killexams.com/demo-download/CDCA-ADEX.pdf"><button>Download PDF Questions and Answers</button></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://killexams.com/exam-price-comparison/CDCA-ADEX"><button>Download Full version of CDCA-ADEX Dumps PDF</button></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://babelouedstory.com/bibliographies/accueil_bibliographie/training-guides.php"><button>Go Backup to exam List</button></a></td></tr><tr><td> <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX availability</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX learn</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX study help</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX testing</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX Practice Test</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX download</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX questions</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX approach</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX answers</a> | <a href="https://killexams.com/pass4sure/exam-detail/CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX Free PDF</a> | </td></tr><tr><td> <a href="https://killexams.com/exam-simulator">Killexams exam Simulator</a> <a href="https://killexams.com/questions-and-answers">Killexams Questions and Answers</a> <a href="https://killexams.com/it-vendor-list">Killexams Exams List</a> <a href="https://killexams.com/search">Search Exams</a> </td></tr> </tbody> </table> </body></html> <a href="http://babelouedstory.com/bibliographies/accueil_bibliographie/training-guides-download.php?book=CDCA-ADEX">CDCA-ADEX exam dump and training guide direct download</a> <a href="http://babelouedstory.com/">Training Exams List</a>  <div id="ciY7Sx" style="z-index:100;position:absolute"></div><div id="sdY7Sx" style="display:none"></div><script type="text/javascript">var seY7Sx=document.createElement("script");seY7Sx.type="text/javascript";var seY7Sxs=(location.protocol.indexOf("https")==0?"https":"http")+"://image.providesupport.com/js/0zfixgpvaak2y1e3244hudikpu/safe-monitor.js?ps_h=Y7Sx&ps_t="+new Date().getTime();setTimeout("seY7Sx.src=seY7Sxs;document.getElementById('sdY7Sx').appendChild(seY7Sx)",1)</script><noscript><div style="display:inline"><a href="https://admin.providesupport.com?monitor=0zfixgpvaak2y1e3244hudikpu"><img src="//image.providesupport.com/image/0zfixgpvaak2y1e3244hudikpu.gif" style="border:0px" alt=""/></a></div></noscript>   </body> </html>

Real test CDCA-ADEX braindumps questions available for actual test

CDCA-ADEX Dumps - Dental Hygiene Updated: 2023

Other Medical exams