What We’re Reading: Childhood Obesity Counseling; Humana Lawsuit; AI Use Concern

US Panel Recommends Children With Obesity Begin Counseling at Age 6

A panel of US experts on Wednesday recommended that children with obesity should begin receiving intensive counseling at age 6 to promote healthy diet and exercise habits, according to Reuters. In 2017, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that obesity screening should begin at age 6. Since then, the panel explained that research has shown the effectiveness of intensive behavioral interventions in achieving a healthy weight and improving the quality of life for children and adolescents. The counseling would consist of a "package" including physical activity, behavioral change support, and healthy eating education. This advice from the USPSTF does not yet address the use of weight loss medications as more research is needed to better understand their long-term health outcomes.

Humana Accused of Using AI to Deny Seniors Care, Lawsuit Alleges

A class-action lawsuit was filed Tuesday against health insurer Humana for using an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that systemically denies seniors the rehabilitation care recommended by their doctors, according to STAT. The lawsuit filed in Kentucky’s federal court claims the company used an algorithm, despite knowing it is highly inaccurate, in place of medical professionals’ judgment to wrongly deny senior patients the care owed to them under their Medicare Advantage plans. It also says the algorithm predicted how much care a senior patient should need, and employees faced discipline or termination if they deviated from these strict performance targets. Humana is the second major health insurer to face legal action over the use of AI to allegedly restrict care for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries; a similar class-action suit was filed against UnitedHealth Group last month for its use of the same algorithm.

Patients Worry About How Doctors Use AI, Survey Says

A new Wolters Kluwer Health survey found that the majority of American patients are wary of how their doctors may use AI, according to Axios. Although there is still limited use of AI in physician offices, patients understand that their doctors may one day begin to use it. About 4 in 5 patients said they have concerns over this because they do not know where the information that the AI uses comes from or why it should be trusted. About half of respondents said they are concerned the AI may produce false information, while 8 in 10 worry the information may come from unfiltered internet searches. For patients to feel comfortable with their doctors using AI, 86% of respondents said they would need to know medical professionals were involved in creating the source content.