BY: CLAIRE KIM
With growing technology efforts in the health field, some investors have gained interest in solving the HIV crisis through the invention of a special algorithm. This algorithm, inspired by researchers at Harvard and Kaiser Permanente Northern California, allows hospitals to detect patients with a risk of HIV through a careful analysis of previous medical records collected over time. Of course, such results won’t be 100% accurate because of the circumstances.
While computerized systems that detect chances of breast cancer are fairly dependable, in this case, a system that detects HIV (which can be influenced by sexual interactions) has to be considered with caution. Doctors should not jump to immediate conclusions when looking at the data because inaccuracies can lead to a misguided diagnosis.
Hopefully, as technology grows more advanced in the future, we will see models that serve a more definitive purpose in the healthcare system.
claire kim. 