August 2024 Medical News Summary

A recent JAMA Cardiology essay argues that medicine is not just a technical endeavor, it's also a moral endeavor, and a robot does not have moral agency. Coauthor Sarah C. Hull, MD, MBE, of Yale School of Medicine, joins JAMA and JAMA+ AI Associate Editor Yulin Hswen, ScD, MPH, to discuss the use of AI in managing decision-making in cardiac care. Related Content: AI Can’t Worry About Patients, and a Clinical Ethicist Says That Matters Echoes of Concern—AI and Moral Agency in Medicine

Widespread adoption of AI raises questions about accountability, transparency, and reproducibility. Marcia McNutt, PhD, president of the National Academy of Sciences, joins JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, to discuss advancing scientific knowledge in the age of AI. Related Content: National Academies President on How to Use Generative AI Responsibly in Scientific Research

Researchers Are Exploring the Role of Shingles—and a Protective Role of Shingles Vaccine—in Dementia; Could the Body Roundness Index One Day Replace BMI? Related Content: Researchers Are Exploring the Role of Shingles—and a Protective Role of Shingles Vaccine—in Dementia Could the Body Roundness Index One Day Replace the BMI?

Getting genuinely useful new technologies, from wearables to clinical decision support, into the clinic has proven to be surprisingly challenging. Tanzeem K. Choudhury, PhD, of Cornell Tech joins JAMA+ AI Editor in Chief Roy H. Perlis, MD, MSc, to discuss how to take research into the real world in a way that is scalable and affordable. Related Content: How Health and Technology Sectors Can Collaborate on Better AI-Assisted Wearables

What hard lessons did the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) learn in 3 decades of EHR development, and what can it teach us about building better AI in medicine? Stephen Fihn, MD, MPH, of the University of Washington, and formerly a leader in the VA’s EHR efforts, joins JAMA+ AI Editor in Chief Roy H. Perlis, MD, MSc, to discuss his experience at the VA building decision support tools and other technology. Related Content: The VA Was an Early Adopter of Artificial Intelligence to Improve Care—Here’s What They Learned Hello, World—Introducing JAMA+ AI

European Society of Cardiology Vice President Carlos Aguiar, MD, discusses clinical research highlights from the largest scientific meeting in cardiovascular medicine, held recently in London. Updates include semaglutide findings, hypertension triple pills, and more. Related Content: Semaglutide Updates, Hypertension Triple Pills, and More—Heart Health Highlights From ESC Congress

Related Content: The Latest Research About Paxlovid: Effectiveness, Access, and Possible Long COVID Benefits New Guidance Helps Clinicians Use Pemivibart to Protect Immunocompromised Patients From COVID-19

Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, and Salim S. Abdool Karim, MBChB, PhD, are the recipients of the 2024 Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award for their decades of work on AIDS in Africa. The infectious diseases epidemiologists recently reflected on their life’s work in a conversation with JAMA Deputy Editor and infectious diseases physician Preeti Malani, MD, MSJ. Related Content: Thirty-Five Years of HIV Research in Africa—An Interview With Winners of the 2024 Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award AIDS in Africa—Impact of Research

Extreme heat and its health outcomes are becoming more common. Jeremy Hess, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine physician and professor at the University of Washington, and Andrew Phelps, former director of the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, join Jennifer Abbasi, director of JAMA Medical News, to discuss lessons learned from the unprecedented heat wave in June 2021. Related Content: As Extreme Heat Becomes More Common, the Unprecedented Pacific Northwest Heat Dome Offers Lessons

Here’s What to Know About the New Mpox Global Emergency; Controversial FDA Decision Authorizes Menthol-Flavored E-Cigarettes Related Content: As Mpox Cases Surge in Africa, WHO Declares a Global Emergency—Here’s What to Know Controversial FDA Decision Authorizes Menthol-Flavored E-Cigarettes Despite Risks to Youth