JAMA + IA Weekly Update April 19, 2025

This week in a new JAMA+ AI Conversations, we talked with two authors from a study of a deep learning diabetic retinopathy algorithm deployed in India.

“Around 50% of these patients don’t even know that they have diabetes. It’s not just about getting screening done, it’s just about knowing what you need in terms of care,” said Sunny Virmani, MS, a product manager at Google who leads its Health AI product team. “We were able to look at how AI can actually help improve access to care in such places.”

Other Editor’s Picks this week:

• A Viewpoint in JAMA Otolaryngology discussed the introduction of OTC hearing aid–enabled earbuds. Could this mark the beginning of a new era where hearing health tools become as commonplace as the earbuds in our pockets?
• A Viewpoint in JAMA Health Forum examined the unrealistic standards for error-free decision-making by physicians and how this relates to the evolving landscape of AI–assisted health care.
• A study published in JAMA Network Open found confidence in organizations to use health data responsibly was largely unchanged from 2020 to 2022, but polarization increased between politically liberal and conservative respondents.