The Potential For Bias In Machine Learning And Opportunities For Health Insurers To Address It.

As the use of machine learning algorithms in health care continues to expand, there are growing concerns about equity, fairness, and bias in the ways in which machine learning models are developed and used in clinical and business decisions. We present a guide to the data ecosystem used by health insurers to highlight where bias can arise along machine learning pipelines. We suggest mechanisms for identifying and dealing with bias and discuss challenges and opportunities to increase fairness through analytics in the health insurance industry.

Is asthma in the elderly different? Functional and clinical characteristics of asthma in individuals aged 65 years and older.

Background: The prevalence of chronic diseases in the elderly (> 65 years), including asthma, is growing, yet information available on asthma in this population is scarce.Our objective is to determine the differential clinical and functional characteristics of the population > 65 years old with asthma included in the Integrated Research Programs of Asthma Databank of the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (www.bancodatosasma.

A Simple Score for Future Risk Prediction in Patients with Controlled Asthma Who Undergo a Guidelines-Based Step-Down Strategy.

Background: The minimum controlling dose of treatment must be established in patients with asthma, but the outcome of step-down is unpredictable.

Objective: To identify factors associated with risk of control loss when stepping down asthma treatment and to develop a score to predict this risk.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter study including adults with well-controlled asthma was performed.

Duration of the efficacy of omalizumab after treatment discontinuation in 'real life' severe asthma.

Efficacy of omalizumab in severe asthma is well documented; however, the optimal duration of the treatment remains unclear. In an open prospective study, we sought to assess the persistence of response in subjects withdrawing from omalizumab treatment. We evaluated 49 patients who voluntarily accepted to discontinue omalizumab treatment after 6 years of therapy.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Omalizumab for the Treatment of Severe Persistent Asthma in Real Clinical Practice in Spain.

Background And Objective: Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets circulating immunoglobulin E molecules to treat severe uncontrolled asthma. The aim of this study was to determine the cost effectiveness of omalizumab compared with standard treatment for the control of severe persistent asthma according to data from patients treated in a specialized asthma unit.

Methods: This was an observational, retrospective, single-center study in the setting of the Pulmonology and Respiratory Allergy Service, Thorax Institute, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.