Equity in medical devices: trainers and educators play a vital role

The impact of racial bias on the performance of medical devices used in the NHS gained public and political attention during the covid pandemic, with the recognition that patients with darker skin tones may be put at increased risk of hidden hypoxaemia.123 Further inequities in medical device performance are coming to light, particularly with the advent of AI enabled devices in medicine. This was the impetus for the appointment of the UK Independent Review of Equity in Medical Devices, of which we are members.4Our report, published in March 2024, found that inequities can be introduced at every stage in the device lifecycle, with the potential to harm patients. While tackling these inequities requires systemwide solutions, there’s a central role for education and training of healthcare professionals, as well as others in the digital technology sector.4Skin tone diversity trainingKnowledge of the signs and symptoms of diseases across skin tones in the…
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