Journal of Medical Internet Research

Rapid advancements in Internet technology have significantly transformed the healthcare landscape. In China, Internet hospitals have emerged as vital components of the healthcare system. This rapid growth highlights the necessity for a thorough evaluation of Internet hospitals within the healthcare system, as they operate under models distinct from traditional healthcare settings.

Black women are disproportionately affected by hormone-related health conditions, which may result from higher exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in consumer products. EDCs are chemicals that interfere with the body’s natural hormones.

The integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) into healthcare presents significant risks to patients and clinicians, inadequately addressed by current guidance. This paper adapts harm reduction principles from public health to medical LLMs, proposing a structured framework for mitigating these domain-specific risks while maximizing ethical utility. We outline tailored strategies: for patients, emphasizing critical health literacy and output verification, and for clinicians, enforcing “human-in-the-loop” validation and bias-aware workflows. Key innovations include developing thoughtful use protocols that position LLMs as assistive tools requiring mandatory verification, establishing actionable institutional policies with risk-stratified deployment guidelines and patient disclaimers, and critically analyzing underaddressed regulatory, equity, and safety challenges. This research moves beyond theory to offer a practical roadmap, enabling stakeholders to ethically harness LLMs, balance innovation with accountability, and preserve core medical values: patient safety, equity, and trust in high-stakes healthcare settings.

Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent and burdensome, yet many individuals, especially those with subclinical symptoms, remain underserved by traditional care models. While digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) have improved access, few integrate high-frequency measurement-based care (MBC) or evaluate outcomes across the full spectrum of symptom severity in real-world settings.

Hearing loss is estimated to affect more than 20% of the global population. Hearing aid fitting is a common intervention in audiological rehabilitation; however, there are still those who struggle with remaining communication difficulties that require additional intervention. The group rehabilitation program Active Communication Education (ACE) has been shown to be an effective alternative for addressing these remaining difficulties. The effects of the individualized version, the I-ACE, have yet to be explored in a randomized controlled trial.

Despite improvements in early cancer diagnosis globally, morbidity and mortality in Southern Africa continue to rise. Challenges with funding, sociocultural beliefs, and healthcare access underlie the evolving cancer burden in the region. The increasing global use of digital health has the potential to expand healthcare access, particularly to remote communities, and expand support for healthcare workers (HCWs). However, there is limited research exploring the readiness to use digital health technology to support symptomatic cancer diagnosis in Southern Africa.

Incorporating initial serum chloride levels as a prognostic indicator in the intensive care environment has the potential to refine risk stratification and tailor treatment strategies, leading to more efficient use of clinical resources and improved patient outcomes.

The effects of smartphone use on mental health and brain activity in adolescents have received much attention, however, the effects on older adults have received little. As more and more older adults begin to use smartphones, it is imperative to explore the effects of non-addictive smartphone use on mental health, cognitive function, and brain activity in older adults.

Social media serves as a tool for increased digital interconnectedness and has resulted in playing an instrumental role in sharing health-related information with a wide audience. In conjunction with the vast availability of information, there has been a rapid spread of misinformation, leading to public mistrust, safety concerns, and discrimination. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the threat of misinformation resulting in detrimental health outcomes due to individuals becoming fatigued with COVID-19 health guidance. Although vaccinations are the key to combating COVID-19, the overwhelming amount of misinformation has resulted in diminished vaccine acceptance.

Access to care for patients with musculoskeletal disorders (MSKDs) remains a significant challenge. Telehealth has emerged as a promising solution to improve access to care. However, conducting initial evaluations of MSKDs remotely raises concerns about patient safety and clinical efficacy due to the necessary adaptations of a clinical examination and the challenges of obtaining an accurate and reliable diagnosis without any physical contact with patients.