Ensuring transparency in health datasets is a critical issue, gaining even more attention with the upcoming EU AI Act. A recent review article in The Lancet Digital Health takes a deep dive into this topic, offering key recommendations to address data bias and improve accountability.
Using a Delphi consensus approach, over 350 experts from 58 countries developed 29 recommendations grouped into dataset documentation and dataset use. These guidelines emphasize transparent data composition, inclusive representation of diverse populations, and proactive assessment and mitigation of bias.
The study highlights that no dataset is without limitations and stresses the importance of responsible data reporting to ensure AI technologies in radiology and beyond are both equitable and effective. For a deeper understanding of these crucial recommendations, a must-read on this important topic!
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Tackling algorithmic bias and promoting transparency in health datasets: the STANDING Together consensus recommendations
Lancet Digital Health, 2025
Abstract
Without careful dissection of the ways in which biases can be encoded into artificial intelligence (AI) health technologies, there is a risk of perpetuating existing health inequalities at scale. One major source of bias is the data that underpins such technologies. The STANDING Together recommendations aim to encourage transparency regarding limitations of health datasets and proactive evaluation of their effect across population groups. Draft recommendation items were informed by a systematic review and stakeholder survey. The recommendations were developed using a Delphi approach, supplemented by a public consultation and international interview study. Overall, more than 350 representatives from 58 countries provided input into this initiative. 194 Delphi participants from 25 countries voted and provided comments on 32 candidate items across three electronic survey rounds and one in-person consensus meeting. The 29 STANDING Together consensus recommendations are presented here in two parts. Recommendations for Documentation of Health Datasets provide guidance for dataset curators to enable transparency around data composition and limitations. Recommendations for Use of Health Datasets aim to enable identification and mitigation of algorithmic biases that might exacerbate health inequalities. These recommendations are intended to prompt proactive inquiry rather than acting as a checklist. We hope to raise awareness that no dataset is free of limitations, so transparent communication of data limitations should be perceived as valuable, and absence of this information as a limitation. We hope that adoption of the STANDING Together recommendations by stakeholders across the AI health technology lifecycle will enable everyone in society to benefit from technologies which are safe and effective.