Angela Poe Russell: Seattle physician exposes how algorithms in healthcare can negatively impact patient care
Dr. Michelle Terry, a Seattle physician, delivered a powerful TED Talk addressing the implications of algorithms in healthcare, particularly their role in patient risk assessments. During her talk, she showcased the National Cancer Institute's Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool, which exhibited troubling biases in its results based on race. For example, despite maintaining the same personal details, changing the race to white increased the risk score by 5%, demonstrating the flawed nature of these algorithms. Dr.
Terry emphasized that race is not a reliable indicator of genetic predisposition, urging healthcare providers to treat patients as unique individuals rather than relying solely on algorithmic outputs. She encourages patients to proactively inquire about the algorithms used in their treatment decisions, questioning if race was a factor in the analysis. The insights from her TED Talk highlight the urgent need for a more personalized approach in healthcare, where technology complements the human element of medicine. As discussions around healthcare algorithms grow, Dr. Terry’s observations serve as a crucial reminder of the potential consequences they can have on patient care.
Her talk is set to be released later this month, furthering the conversation on this critical issue.