Informatics in the Round

Dec 17 2024 38 ep. 65 mins 63

Informatics in the Round Podcast artwork

Covering topics and innovations in biomedical informatics, healthcare, medicine, science, engineering, and artificial intelligence (with the occasional musical surprise)

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Let's Talk Therapy: AI and Mental Health

Dec 17 2024 77 mins

What role can AI play in mental health care? Let’s talk about it! In this year's final episode of Informatics in the Round, we explore how AI can assist both patients seeking diagnoses and treatments for mental health disorders as well as therapists looking to improve their clinical practice. While AI offers exciting possibilities, we also address important concerns around data p

AI in the Workplace: Automation, Job Replacement, and What Makes Us Human

Nov 21 2024 62 mins

Can AI do our jobs better than we can? Let’s test it! You might have noticed that this episode got off to a strange start… who were those people talking anyway? That, my friends, was Google NotebookLM’s best shot at recording this very podcast. In it, two AI-generated guests conduct an ironic “deep dive” into the topic we are discussing in this episode: whether AI will co

A Virtuous Cycle: When Will We Finally Have Learning Health Systems?

Oct 09 2024 56 mins

What exactly is a “learning health system”? In several of our episodes, you’ve heard us talk about how data collection has modernized through new technologies and enhanced approaches to clinical trials. But now that we have all that data, we need to transform it into clinical practice. Learning health systems are all about completing this virtuous cycle from scientific discov

Chatbots in Healthcare: The Ultimate Turing Test

Aug 28 2024 78 mins

Live from the studio, it's Informatics in the Round! Okay, we aren't technically live, but we are bringing you an extra special episode from the Penn Engineering Online studio! Since all our guests are from the University of Pennsylvania, we thought we would sit down in-person to enjoy this lively discussion. Today we are talking all about chatbots and the future of generative AI i

Get Your Dose of Data! An Introduction to Public Health Informatics

Jul 31 2024 70 mins

Welcome, everyone, to your introductory course in public health informatics! On today's episode, we discuss all things public health, including what it is, how it varies on a state and national level, and how health departments respond to public health crises. We demystify some of our misconceptions about how the public health system works, like how state departments are separate f

Healthcare Headaches: Addressing Information Silos in Primary Care

Jun 12 2024 68 mins

It’s no secret that handling medical data is complicated and time-consuming. Of course, the goal is to address the patient buried beneath the in-depth patient notes, multiple EHRs, and drug prescriptions. Perhaps technology can make that a bit easier! In this episode, we have the special privilege of hearing the research of two graduate students who have found the biggest pain po

Life After Leadership: Stories from Inside Biomedical Informatics Departments

Apr 11 2024 76 mins

What happens when you bring together three previous heads of biomedical informatics departments? A lot of reflection, storytelling, and joking around! In this episode, we bring together guests who have previously run informatics departments and are still involved in various ways, whether through research, teaching, or creating content to educate the public. We get the inside scoop

Decoding Digital Dynamics: Inside the SAFELab with Desmond Upton Patton

Feb 01 2024 67 mins

How does social media challenge or reinforce our own biases? On this episode, we sat down with the University of Pennsylvania's Desmond Upton Patton to discuss his research on social media and adolescence. We talk about the many roles social media has for young people and how they have taken advantage of social media as a storytelling mechanism and a tool for navigating safety. We

Clinical Trials: Are We Whitewashing the Data?

Nov 10 2023 73 mins

Is every clinical trial created equal? In this episode, we learn some shocking information about the proportions of populations normally included in clinical trials. We specifically cover recent treatments for Alzheimer’s disease to discuss how we may have failed to consider minority populations in our research and how we can use precision medicine to create more equitable clinic

Getting ”Dis”ed: Battling Misinformation and Disinformation on Social Media

Sep 19 2023 64 mins

In this episode, we tackle an all-too-familiar topic: misinformation. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen how technology and social media can be used to both spread health information awareness and popularize misinformation. The question remains: in the age of technology, how can we be sure about the validity of the information we are receiving online, and how can we all be v