Health

(NEW YORK) — The growing use of artificial intelligence has been a hot topic in recent years, with a growing number of industries starting to use the technology that’s predicted to revolutionize certain sectors.

The technology fuels excitement, but there are also concerns about potentially negative impacts on people and society.

In her new book, More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender and Ability Bias in Tech, AI researcher and data journalism professor Meredith Broussard dives into the impact of some of AI’s deep-rooted problems.

Broussard spoke to ABC News about discovering how AI was used during her own diagnostic testing for breast cancer and some of the potential downsides of the technology being used in this capacity.

LINSEY DAVIS: So in the book you talk about being diagnosed with breast cancer and you learn at some point that AI had actually read your exam. What was your reaction to that?

MEREDITH BROUSSARD: I thought it was so strange, because I was depending on my doctors for care in this crisis moment of my life. And I thought, what did this AI find? How is it being used? And because I’m an AI researcher, I thought, who made this particular AI, because I know that there’s a lot of bias in artificial intelligence systems.

So I didn’t do anything with this knowledge right away, but then after I was recovered, I went back to it, and I actually took an open source AI and ran my films through this open source AI in order to write about the state of the art in AI-based cancer detection.

DAVIS: Do you think that this is something we’re going to increasingly see in the medical world?

BROUSSARD: I think that one of the things that researchers really want to do, that medical researchers really want to do, is they want to heal more people and they want to diagnose more people earlier and more accurately, and the real hope is that AI will help with that. Is it going to happen any time soon? No. Could it happen eventually? Maybe.

DAVIS: What are the potential risks of AI being used in this capacity?

BROUSSARD: One of the things that people often don’t realize is that when you make an AI system, a machine learning system, for something like breast cancer diagnosis, you actually have to tune it to have a higher rate of false positives or false negatives.

So a false positive would mean that it says, “Oh, you might have cancer,” when you don’t actually have cancer, and it sends you for more testing. And a false negative would mean that it says, “Nope, no cancer here,” but you actually do have cancer. So the cost of a false negative is much higher in medicine. And so these systems are actually tuned to have more false positives than false negatives, which means that it is quite often going to say, “Oh, yeah, I think there might be a problem here,” and then people are going to get referred for more testing, which, as many people know, can mean weeks or even months of waiting for additional tests and just being on the edge of your seat while you’re worrying about this.

DAVIS: Well, people are at home, are going to wonder, did you have a false positive?

BROUSSARD: So, I had really great medical care throughout my cancer experience. And I just, I’m so grateful to everybody who took care of me. One of the interesting things about the AI that diagnosed me is that it’s not actually used for diagnosis. It is used by the doctors at this particular hospital after they have already given their own diagnosis, so it’s like a backup tool. So the doctor, the radiologist, will enter in what they think the diagnosis is, and then they’ll get access to the AI’s results. And they can either ignore the AI’s results or they can use it to say, “OK, well, maybe I’ll go back and look at that area of concern again.”

So it’s still in the hands of doctors. Nobody needs to worry that AIs are out there, you know, diagnosing people with cancer. And we’re definitely not at the situation that a lot of people imagine, where it would be like a box that you kind of walk up to it and it scans you and tells you, “Yes, you have cancer. No, you don’t have cancer.” Like, that’s not a reasonable scenario.

DAVIS: Not today.

BROUSSARD: Not today. I mean, I hope it’s not ever like that, because I do not want bad news medically. I want that from a doctor. I don’t want it from a machine.

DAVIS: Meredith, we thank you so much. Of course, this is a conversation that’s going to be ongoing in the coming months and years ahead. Want to let our viewers know that her book, More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender and Ability Bias in Tech, is now available wherever books are sold.

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(NEW YORK) — COVID-19 hospitalizations are continuing to increase in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For the week ending Aug. 5, COVID hospitalizations increased 14.3% from 9,026 to 10,320 weekly hospitalizations, data from the federal health agency updated Monday shows.

While the percentage jump is in the double digits, the absolute numbers are still quite low. Weekly hospitalizations during the omicron wave peaked at 150,674 in January 2022.

“We have to remember that we’re still dealing with numbers that are far less than what we’ve seen for the pandemic,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital. “We have to zoom out to look at our experience for the entire pandemic, to understand that what we’re dealing with now is far from any crisis that we’ve experienced with previous waves.”

“While a percentage [increase] may seem scary, we’re still dealing with absolute small numbers,” Brownstein, an ABC News contributor, added.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have been rising over the last several weeks, increasing 12.5% last week and 12% the week before. Brownstein noted that the rate of increase week-over-week is also not as steep as seen during previous waves.

Data also showed that COVID-19 deaths have slightly increased in July, rising to 473 the week of July 15 — the latest date for which complete data is available. However, experts say this is expected after a rise in hospitalization and reporting delays may result in death numbers shifting in the coming weeks.

“Proportionately, it makes sense that when you have increased transmission, you will see proportionately some increase in hospitalizations, and you will see some increase in deaths,” Brownstein said. “But there’s a decoupling that is happening between cases and hospitalizations, where a jump in cases doesn’t necessarily mean as big a jump in hospitalizations and deaths.”

Brownstein said there could be several factors behind the increase including waning immunity, a reduction in mitigation measures and more people gathering indoors.

“It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be vigilant about COVID,” he said. “It also doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t look for opportunities to reduce our personal risk, and to make sure that we’re, up to date on immunizations. But this is more likely going to be you know, what we’ll experience going forward with COVID.”

All currently circulating subvariants are related to XBB, a descendant of omicron. A newer variant known as EG.5 now makes up an estimated 17% of new cases, according to the CDC.

Currently, there is no evidence to suggests that EG.5 causes more severe disease or is significantly more infectious than previous variants.

Brownstein said some of the concern may be due to surges seen with variants in the past such as the delta variant in summer 2021, leading to a sounding of the alarm.

“But each new variant so far that has come through has subsequently had less of a population impact,” he said. “Now, is it possible we may see one in the future that is worthy, a real concern? Absolutely. But overall, we’ve seen a dampening of effect over the last several variants that have come through.”

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(SALT LAKE CITY) — After a three-year manhunt, a Utah man has been arrested on charges of allegedly selling a fake COVID-19 cure, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah announced Monday.

Gordon Hunter Pedersen, 63, of Cedar Hills — 30 miles south of Salt Lake City — allegedly appeared in multiple YouTube videos before COVID-19 vaccines were approved, selling “structural alkaline silver.”

He allegedly claimed the product was a cure for the virus because it “resonates, or vibrates, at a frequency that destroys the membrane of the virus, making the virus incapable of attaching to any healthy cell, or to infect you in any way,” the release states.

Court documents said Pedersen sold the products on MyDoctorSuggests.com as well as Amazon and Shopify. Prices ranged up to $299.95 for a gallon of the silver products.

Prosecutors allege he also claimed to have a Ph.D. in immunology and in naturopathic medicine and he was a board-certified “anti-aging medical doctor.”

Between January 2020 and the end of April 2020, Pedersen’s company saw a 400% jump in revenue, equating to about $2 million, according to court documents.

Search warrants were executed at Pedersen’s home in late April 2020 and he was interviewed by federal agents, the documents show.

A federal grand jury indicted Pedersen on July 23, 2020, on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and felony introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud and mislead.

After he failed to appear in federal court in relation to the indictment, a warrant was issued for his arrest on Aug. 25, 2020, officials say.

Pedersen evaded authorities for three years, but it came to an end after prosecutors said he was spotted on July 5 at his known address by a special agent. He was then spotted on surveillance video at a gas station paying for both fuel and a beverage in cash.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah declined to comment to ABC News, saying it does not comment on open cases.

Pedersen will appear at a detention hearing Tuesday afternoon at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

Throughout the pandemic, a variety of cases have been prosecuted of people selling fake COVID-19 cures.

Last month, four members of a Florida family were convicted of selling bleach as a cure for several ailments, including COVID-19, through their online church.

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(NEW YORK) — Children and teenagers who previously had multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, known as MIS-C, may be more likely to have neurological and mental health issues than those who did not, a recent study suggests.

Researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital looked at 64 children, teens and young adults between ages 5 and 20 who were hospitalized at the hospital between November 2020 and November 2021.

The children underwent neurological examinations and assessments six months to one year after being discharged. They were also compared with siblings, friends or relatives who never had MIS-C.

Results showed that 25% of children who previously had MIS-C had “abnormal neurological findings” compared to 7% of those in the comparison group.

Patients with previous MIS-C were more likely to have memory problems as well as difficulty with motor skills and coordination. They also had higher rates of diagnosed ADHD, anxiety, depression and were more likely to report worse quality of life.

Those in the MIS-C group were also more likely to experience symptoms including chest pain, back pain, headaches, fatigue and nausea.

Dr. Caitlin Rollins, a leader in the study and director of the cardiac neurodevelopmental program at Boston Children’s, said while some of the symptoms could be due to stress — including due to the COVID pandemic, she believes they’re linked to MIS-C due to the higher rates among the group that previously had the condition.

“When families learn the child’s symptoms could be related to MIS-C, they are reassured that others are experiencing it,” she said in a press release. While additional larger studies are required to further evaluate this possible association, “We hope this study will increase awareness.”

MIS-C is a rare, but serious inflammatory condition that is caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that leads to COVID-19.

It typically occurs between two to six weeks after infection and presents a combination of symptoms, including inflammation of various parts of the body along with gastrointestinal symptoms, rash, fever, dizziness or lightheadedness and bloodshot eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors are unclear about what causes some children to develop MIS-C but believe it may involve a genetic predisposition for inflammation in response to respiratory diseases.

As of Monday, there have been 9,518 reported cases of MIS-C and 79 deaths over the course of the pandemic, CDC data shows. Cases were much higher during the early months of the pandemic but have since dropped dramatically.

Rollins said parents with children who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 should keep an eye on their children and seek medical care if needed.

“If parents are noticing changes in their child’s behavior or functioning, it could be related to MIS-C, and they should seek support,” she said.

She also encouraged pediatricians and pediatric cardiologists who treat children with MIS-C to ask questions about their neurologic and mental health and have them evaluated if necessary.

Rollins said she plans to follow the children in the study who had MIS-C for a second year and hopes they will also be able to undergo MRIs to see if the condition caused any structural changes to the brain.

 

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use certain pregnancy, ovulation and urinary tract infection tests.

At least 15 tests manufactured by Universal Meditech Inc. (UMI) may be ineffective, including One Step Pregnancy Test, DiagnosUS One Step Ovulation Test, HealthyWiser UriTest UTI Test Strips and PrestiBio Breast Milk Alcohol Test Strips, the federal health agency said Friday.

“UMI has notified the FDA that it has stopped all operations and is no longer providing support for its tests,” the FDA said in a statement. “The FDA is not able to confirm the performance of UMI’s tests, raising concerns that the tests may not be safe and effective.”

The tests may have been sold online by at least four distributors under the names AC&C, HealthyWiser, Home Health US and Prestige Biotech.

While UMI did recall undistributed tests, it did not do so for those already distributed or sold.

“Given FDA’s concerns about these tests, the FDA is issuing this safety communication to consumers and patients as part of its mandate to protect the public health,” the agency said.

It’s not clear why UMI issued the recall, but when UMI notified FDA about the recall of the tests and what about the performance can’t be confirmed by the FDA.

Neither UMI nor the FDA immediately returned ABC News’ request for comment.

In addition to not purchasing tests, the FDA is warning consumers to throw away all recalled tests; to test again for pregnancy, ovulation or UTIs with a different brand; and report any problems to the FDA’s MedWatch program.

This is not the first time the FDA has issued an alert about recalled urine strip tests. Last year, the agency shared that Family Dollar was recalling several products that were stored “outside of labeled temperature requirements” including several pregnancy tests.

 

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(NEW YORK) — Khadija Hines struggled with feelings of depression after the birth of her third child.

“There was no sunshine, a lot of dark moments,” Hines told ABC News. “My family’s from the Caribbean islands and they weren’t really understanding … it felt extremely lonely, like I was in a dark pit and I was just falling, falling deeper and deeper.”

She didn’t know it at the time, but Hines was among an estimated 15% of mothers who experience postpartum depression, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all pediatricians screen birth mothers for postpartum depression.

One OB-GYN interviewed by ABC News said not enough women know about the condition to ask for a diagnosis.

But doctors and patient advocates are hopeful that could change with a new pill approved specifically for postpartum depression. The pill, called Zurzuvae, is taken daily for two weeks, and studies found that some women saw improvements in their mood in as little as three days.

Zurzuvae was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this month.

“I think that this is a great change to what we’ve seen in the past as far as medical management and what we’ve been able to offer because of the quick onset,” Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a board-certified OB-GYN and chief medical officer at Verywell Health, told ABC News.

Hines told ABC that if Zurzuvae had been available when she was struggling with PPD, she would have tried it.

Fortunately, Hines was connected to the Postpartum Resource Center of New York, where she said received education on postpartum depression, therapy, and support she needed to navigate her diagnosis.

For many new moms, postpartum depression can be a debilitating illness. Symptoms include intense sadness, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and more, which can coalesce into inability to care for oneself and one’s baby.

Postpartum depression can even lead to mothers harming themselves and their babies.

Experts say many mothers experience this alone, without help.

The new pill won’t be available until at least October, according to a spokesperson for the manufacturer, Sage Therapeutics — and it’s not a panacea, with studies showing it helped most, but not all, new mothers.

Meanwhile, experts caution long-term effects and safety while breastfeeding have not yet been studied, meaning parents and doctors will need to balance potential benefits and risks.

Still, the daily pill is considered a much more practical treatment option for new mothers compared to the sole prior medical therapy, Zulresso, an IV infusion that is continuously administered over several days. Doctors are hopeful that the recent FDA approval will raise awareness of postpartum depression, breaking down the stigma of maternal mental health.

A 2018 CDC survey of more than 32,000 mothers across the United States found that 1 in 8 women experience postpartum depressive symptoms, yet they are not all diagnosed. Without diagnosis, many women are likely not offered proven, effective treatments for PPD.

Diagnosis of a medical condition usually happens in one of two ways: either the health care provider screens for the disease or a person asks their provider for help regarding specific symptoms. The same study found that the same number of women, 1 in 8, were not screened for PPD in their postpartum visit.

“In [obstetrics], we don’t really typically see our patients for four to six weeks after delivery. A lot can develop in that time,” Shepherd said. “So, I think that there are other ways we can intervene with catching these signs earlier, from a health care perspective.”

The AAP recognizes that one place for improvement would be to screen for postpartum depression at the pediatrician’s office. According to the AAP, a healthy baby should see the pediatrician seven times in their first year of life, with two of those visits in the first four weeks.

While women usually see their OB-GYNs four to six weeks after delivery, most women will likely have had the opportunity to see their pediatrician twice prior to ever seeing their own health care providers.

While Hines says she was able to overcome her PPD with a vigorous “mind, body, and soul” approach, utilizing intensive therapy and social support, she is hopeful that Zurzuvae will become “another tool that we can use with all the other things to help us take better care of our mental health.”

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.

Dr. Neha Gupta, an emergency medicine resident physician, is a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

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(NEW YORK) — The aftermath of the Maui wildfires may have a significant mental and physical health toll.

Dangerous wildfires — fueled by dry conditions and strong winds — are continuing to sweep across Maui, ravaging the small Hawaiian island.

At least 55 people have been killed and a majority of the historic town of Lahaina, which was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, has been destroyed, according to officials.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Gov. Josh Green called the wildfires “likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii’s state history.”

But the impacts go beyond evacuations and damaged buildings. Experts say the fires are also affecting residents’ and tourists’ physical health and could have impacts on their mental health.

Small particles from smoke can travel into lungs

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of gases, pollutants and particles that people can inhale, penetrating the lungs and even entering the bloodstream. Perhaps the biggest concern is fine particulate matter.

Fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, which is 30 times smaller in diameter than a human hair, is of particular concern.

Because these particles are too small to be seen with the naked eye, they can easily enter the nose and throat and can travel to the lungs, with some of the smallest particles even circulating in the bloodstream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

PM2.5 can cause both short-term health effects, even for healthy people, including irritation of the eyes, nose and throat; coughing; sneezing; and shortness of breath. Conditions such as asthma and heart disease can become worse.

It doesn’t just affect people who are nearby, but also those who are thousands of miles away, said Dr. Kai Chen, an assistant professor of environmental health at Yale’s School of Public Health.

“We saw that evidence actually just two months ago. [Smoke from] the Canadian wildfires in Quebec impacted us here in New Haven, New York City and then further south to D.C.,” he told ABC News. “The reason we’re having so many frequent wildfires is climate change,” Chen said. “Climate change is literally like fuel to the fire.”

Wildfires can increase rates of anxiety, depression

In addition to physical health, there are also mental health impacts. Research has shown wildfires and the subsequent smoke can lead to increased rates of anxiety and depression and become worse among people who already have these conditions.

Dr. Steve Berkowitz, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said wildfires and other natural disasters may also impact the ability of people with mental health conditions to receive care.

“After [Hurricane] Sandy in New York, one the biggest issues was getting people their methadone because all the clinics are closed,” he told ABC News.

Additionally, people can develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can include intrusive thoughts and nightmares. Leaving mental health disorders untreated can have devastating consequences.

“People who develop any of these issues are at very high risk for suicide,” Berkowitz said. “People with PTSD or any of these trauma-related disorders will often be more irritable, have angry outbursts and that can lead to physical aggression and issues. Substance dependence is not an uncommon outcome of this.”

Avoidance is another hallmark of PTSD, but Berkowitz said this is not something that necessarily needs to be treated because it can be a coping mechanism.

“If avoidance is working, we don’t want to mess with it,” he said. “If it works, it works.”

Hospitals caring for patients

Hospitals on and around Maui say they have been caring for patients for burns, smoke inhalation and other fire-related injuries.

Maui Memorial Medical Center released a statement on Thursday saying it’s treated all patients who have visited the hospital and admitted six people.

Seven patents were transferred to clinics in Oahu for specialty services.

“We are operating with ample capacity including bed space, staffing and supply resources, which can be expanded further if we were to see a surge in patients,” Wade Ebersole, chief operations officer, said in a statement. “We need the community to know that they should not hesitate to seek care; we are ready and able to provide all the care our community needs.”

Meanwhile, hospitals across Hawaii including Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Straub/Hawaii Pacific Health, and Queen Medical Center said they have accepted patients.

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(NEW YORK) — Actress Sasha Pieterse is sharing more details of a health issue she faced while starring on the hit TV show Pretty Little Liars as a teen.

Pieterse, now 27, said she struggled during her time on the show with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, a reproductive hormone imbalance that affects around 1 in 10 women of childbearing age, according to the U.S. Office on Women’s Health.

The exact cause of PCOS is unknown, but people with the condition have higher levels of androgens, such as testosterone, and insulin. The condition can cause problems with the menstrual cycle and can lead to the formation of multiple ovarian cysts and cause infertility.

For Pieterse, she said she struggled with an irregular menstrual cycle and weight gain, changes that she said were “documented on camera” due to her role.

“It was probably around 15, 16 [years old] that I started noticing a difference in just my metabolism in general,” Pieterse said on the latest episode of “The Squeeze,” a podcast hosted by Taylor Lautner and his wife Taylor Dome Lautner. “At 17, I gained 70 pounds in a year, for no reason. There was no explanation for it.”

In addition to weight gain, symptoms of PCOS can include everything from irregular or absent periods to excessive facial hair and acne.

Like many women, Pieterse said she struggled to get a diagnosis, going to over 15 gynecologists as she sought help.

It was only when she saw an endocrinologist who Pieterse said listened to her symptoms and took blood work that she was finally diagnosed with PCOS.

“It was the most frustrating experience and disheartening because no matter what I did, no matter how well I behaved, no matter how great I treated my body, things were actually getting worse rather than better — it was very very confusing,” Pieterse said. “So, after a long process, someone recommended that I go to an endocrinologist.”

There is no single way to diagnose PCOS, according to the Office on Women’s Health. In addition to blood work, doctors rely on physical exams, pelvic exams, pelvic ultrasounds and a patient’s medical history.

Often, other conditions are ruled out and then a doctor diagnoses PCOS if a patient meets two of these symptoms: irregular periods, signs of high levels of androgens (like acne and extra hair growth), multiple cysts on one or both ovaries or higher than normal blood levels of androgens, according to the Office on Women’s Health.

There is also no cure for PCOS, so patients often rely on a combination of treatments to manage their symptoms, including medication and weight loss.

Pieterse, who gave birth to a son named Hendrix in 2020, said she speaks out publicly about her journey with PCOS to help raise awareness of the condition.

She said when she was diagnosed nearly a decade ago, she had not heard of PCOS, which affects women of all backgrounds and can happen at any age after puberty, according to the Office on Women’s Health.

“It’s been quite the journey and I love talking about it because I just want women to know more about it,” she said. “I just feel like the louder you are about it, the more people know, the more people get checked out, the more interest there is helping women figure it out and get better.”

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(WASHINGTON) — A total of 49,449 Americans died by suicide in 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

This is a 2.6% increase from 48,183 in 2021 and the highest number ever recorded, according to provisional numbers released in a new report from the federal health agency.

The greatest increase was seen among adults aged 65 and older, which was up 8.1% from 2021, and the second highest increase was in those aged 45 to 64, with a 6.6% rise.

There also was an increase among those aged 25 to 44, but of just 0.7%

Researchers also found overall increases in both genders, up 2.3% among men and 2.8% among women, and among most racial and ethnic groups, except American Indian and Alaska Native people.

Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders saw the largest increase among racial and ethnic groups with 15.9% in 2022. Americans identifying as multiracial saw the second-largest increase at 21.%

However, one bright spot was that among children, teenagers and young adults – between ages 18 and 34, suicides decreased by 8.4%, according to the report.

The CDC said suicides have been increasing almost every year since 2006 — with exceptions in 2019 and 2020 — and that immediate action will need to be taken to address this crisis.

“The troubling increase in suicides requires immediate action across our society to address the staggering loss of life from tragedies that are preventable,” Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer, said in a press release. “Everyone can play a role in efforts to save lives and reverse the rise in suicide deaths.”

The agency urged those seeking help to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis lifeline and to help safeguard those who may be at risk of suicide. This includes asking people if they need help, being there for them, helping them connect with resources and following up.

“Nine in 10 Americans believe America is facing a mental health crisis,” Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “The new suicide death data reported by CDC illustrates why. One life lost to suicide is one too many. Yet, too many people still believe asking for help is a sign of weakness,”

“The Biden-Harris Administration is making unprecedented investments to transform how mental health is understood, accessed and treated as part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda,” Becerra said. “We must continue to eliminate the stigmatization of mental health and make care available to all Americans.”

The CDC also placed emphasis on its Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program, which focuses on suicide prevention, especially among populations that are disproportionately affected by suicide.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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(NEW YORK) — Amazon is beginning to open new locations of the primary care provider One Medical, which it acquired earlier this year, as the tech giant moves into the health care space.

One Medical told ABC News it has just opened two locations in Connecticut, is planning to open a third office in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco, and will open its first office in Milwaukee this fall.

Three other locations have been announced in Connecticut, but One Medical said plans for opening won’t be announced until 2024.

In July 2022, Amazon agreed to acquire San Francisco-based One Medical, giving the company dozens of brick-and-mortar locations, and closed the deal in February 2023 for $3.9 billion.

Instead of a copay or other additional fees, patients pay a $199 annual membership fee to receive care for everything from common illnesses to chronic conditions, to mental and sexual health needs, according to One Medical’s website.

Subscribers also receive around-the-clock access through an app, can schedule same or next-day in-office or remote visits, and can schedule lab work to be done at any One Medical location. One Medical also says they accept most major insurance plans, as well as Medicare.

“We’re on a mission to make it dramatically easier for people to find, choose, afford, and engage with the services, products, and professionals they need to get and stay healthy, and coming together with One Medical is a big step on that journey,” Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, said in statement at the time the acquisition was announced.

“One Medical has set the bar for what a quality, convenient, and affordable primary care experience should be like. We’re inspired by their human-centered, technology-forward approach and excited to help them continue to grow and serve more patients,” the statement continued.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said at the time that the concept could be game-changing in terms of making it fast and easy to schedule medical provider appointments, compared to traditional methods.

“If you fast forward 10 years from now, people are not going to believe how primary care was administered,” he said in a statement. “For decades, you called your doctor, made an appointment three or four weeks out, drove 15-20 minutes to the doctor, parked your car, signed in and waited several minutes in reception, eventually were placed in an exam room, where you waited another 10-15 minutes before the doctor came in, saw you for five to ten minutes and prescribed medicine, and then you drove 20 minutes to the pharmacy to pick it up.”

This is not the first time Amazon has entered the world of health care. In 2018, the Seattle-based retail giant announced it was buying PillPack, an online pharmacy that ships drugs and medications directly to customers’ homes, for more than $750 million.

However, not all of Amazon’s health care entry attempts have been successful. Last year, it shut down its Amazon Care telehealth service, which provided virtual visits as well as in-home visits for patients to receive tests and vaccinations.

Amazon is not the only tech company trying to own a piece of the health care market. Apple, Google and Microsoft have also made moves in recent years.

Through apps and features on the iPhone and the Apple Watch, Apple has cornered the market in terms of enabling users to keep track of their everyday health and fitness, but is hoping to expand into data communication between doctors and patients.

Additionally, earlier this year, Google announced it was expanding the use of AI in health care to help clinicians detect diseases earlier and answer medical questions patients have.

More recently, it was revealed last week that Microsoft has partnered with Duke Health as it looks to develop AI tools to “augment healthcare experiences for providers and patients,” according to the announcement.

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