2026 Encoding Health Equity Summit - Excavating Bias: How to Tell the Complex Story of Medical Algorithms-Excavating Bias: How to Tell the Complex Story of Medical Algorithms

Excavating Bias: How to Tell the Complex Story of Medical Algorithms

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Usha Lee McFarlane, director of MIT’s Knight Science Journalism Program, thanked the organizing teams and discussed how to communicate the harms of race-based medical algorithms to broader audiences beyond experts. Drawing on a seven-part STAT series, she described the history of race in medicine, from slavery-era assumptions to modern algorithms affecting kidney disease, blood tests, and other care. She emphasized telling stories through patients’ experiences, using simple language, centering human impact, and highlighting progress and hope. In Q&A, she addressed the “both sides” challenge in journalism, arguing that false equivalence should not be used when evidence is clear. She also discussed balancing scientific evidence with storytelling, the importance of humility and code-switching for different audiences, and complexities such as biracial patients and racial categories in medical decision-making. The session closed with a call to continue sharing stories and advocating for change.

Keywords

race-based medical algorithms

Usha Lee McFarlane

MIT Knight Science Journalism Program

medical journalism

health disparities

patient-centered storytelling