healthcare
How to Get a Covid-19 Booster Shot
Here's everything you need to know about finding and receiving the booster shot in the age of Omicron.
Sick Pet? These Are the Best Virtual Vet Services
These days, your pet can get medical help without leaving home. These are our favorite televet services.
Your Medical History Might Someday Include ‘Climate Change’
Last summer, a doctor wrote “climate change” in his patient’s chart. But is medicine really ready to address systemic health impacts?
When It Comes to Health Care, AI Has a Long Way to Go
Medical information is more complex and less available than the web data that many algorithms were trained on, so results can be misleading.
How Do You Design a Better Hospital? Start With the Light
A new trend in patient-centered design focuses on making environments more comfortable and less scary.
Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Is Convicted on 4 Counts
A jury acquits the former CEO of the failed blood-testing startup on four other charges, and deadlocks on three.
More Companies Offer Fertility Benefits. It’s Only the Beginning
Employer support for staff who wish to freeze their eggs has great potential—but broader support for parents still lags behind.
To Help People With Long Covid, Scientists Need to Define It
Patients with the perplexing syndrome have reported 200 different symptoms. Researchers will have to decide which to study—and rule out.
Blood, Lies, and a Drug Trials Lab Gone Bad
The system for testing pharmaceuticals in the US relies on contractors adhering to strict guidelines. But one of them chose profits over protocols.
A New Formula May Help Black Patients’ Access to Kidney Care
The prior algorithm adjusted calculations for Black patients—making it harder for them to qualify for transplants and other treatments.
This Device Helps Paralyzed People Breathe—and Sing
Called the Exo-Abs, the robotic device uses artificial intelligence to gauge how much pressure to put on a person’s midsection.
These Algorithms Look at X-Rays—and Somehow Detect Your Race
A study raises new concerns that AI will exacerbate disparities in health care. One issue? The study’s authors aren’t sure what cues are used by the algorithms.
Warby Parker Revamps Its Eye Exam App—and Bets on Telehealth
The eyewear company’s new app for vision prescription renewals illuminates the promises and potential pitfalls of the growing interest in remote health care.
Prisoners, Doctors, and the Battle Over Trans Medical Care
Those who are incarcerated are suing for their right to gender confirmation surgery—if deemed necessary. Meet the psychiatrist who almost always says it's not.
How Fringe Stem Cell Treatments Won Allies on the Far Right
Advocates for dubious therapies (fight Covid with your own fat!) have latched on to conservative grievances—and formed an unholy alliance.
The Key to Telehealth’s Future is Widespread Accessibility
Telehealth is here to stay, but without the proper technological infrastructure and an intuitive experience, it won’t reach its full potential
Google Launches a New Medical App—Outside the US
The dermatology AI app won approval for use in the EU but not with the FDA, an odd twist on Europe's reputation for tough rules on tech.
An Algorithm That Predicts Deadly Infections Is Often Flawed
A study found that a system used to identify cases of sepsis missed most instances and frequently issued false alarms.
What If Doctors Are Always Watching, but Never There?
Remote technology could save lives by monitoring health from home or outside the hospital. It could also push patients and health care providers further apart.
How Apps and VR Therapy Can Help OCD Patients
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often misunderstood. Here’s what it is, and how those with OCD can use technology to help navigate uncertainty.
They Told Their Therapists Everything. Hackers Leaked It All
A mental health startup built its business on easy-to-use technology. Patients joined in droves. Then came a catastrophic data breach.
Microsoft Makes a $16 Billion Entry Into Health Care AI
The company plans to buy Nuance, a speech-recognition firm that grasps the specialized language of medicine—tech that won’t be easy for others to replicate.
This Startup Wants to Take Your Blood Pressure With an iPhone
“Hey Siri, help me treat my hypertension."
We Need More Covid-19 Data on the LGBTQ+ Community
The lack of sexual orientation and gender identity data captured in the health care system makes it difficult to develop treatments tailored to different needs.