Ethical challenges and opportunities associated with the ability to perform medical screening from interactions with search engines: Viewpoint

Elad Yom-Tov, Yuval Cherlow, Rabbi

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Recent research has shown the efficacy of screening for serious medical conditions from data collected while people interact with online services. In particular, queries to search engines and the interactions with them were shown to be advantageous for screening a range of conditions including diabetes, several forms of cancer, eating disorders, and depression. These screening abilities offer unique advantages in that they can serve a broad strata of the society, including people in underserved populations and in countries with poor access to medical services. However, these advantages need to be balanced against the potential harm to privacy, autonomy, and nonmaleficence, which are recognized as the cornerstones of ethical medical care. Here, we discuss these opportunities and challenges, both when collecting data to develop online screening services and when deploying them. We offer several solutions that balance the advantages of these services with the ethical challenges they pose.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere21922
JournalJournal of Medical Internet Research
Volume22
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 16 Sep 2020

Keywords

  • Diagnosis
  • Screening
  • Search engines

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Health Informatics

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