How AI and Telehealth Are Redefining Care Beyond Hospital Walls

Emergence of Telehealth Services: Before and After Pandemic

Telehealth is not new in the U.S., but it was not integral to the pandemic. Those practicing it faced challenges, like restrictions on new technology platforms, interstate licensing, and lower reimbursement rates for teleservices. 

Despite these hurdles, patients who accessed telemedicine had positive experiences. However, clinicians had mixed views, with concerns about the quality of care, training, and inefficiency. 

What Changed After Pandemic? 

COVID-19 blurred the differences between patients and clinicians who were hesitant or less interested in virtual consultations and patient care. The government made significant changes to regulations, relaxing the previous restrictions on the locations, types of services, and platforms for telemedicine services. 

These positive changes gave healthcare providers flexibility and drove rapid adaptations of telehealth. The overall goal was to make medical practices affordable during the pandemic.

As a result, telemedicine saw a massive growth from 0.3% to 23.6% during the pandemic. And around 20% of all hospital visits were via telemedicine. 

In addition to COVID-19, the country's growing older population is driving this change, making telehealth an important part of medical care. In the next 40 years, the nation will have double the number of adults aged above 65 than in 2000, and those above 85 will quadruple in number. (The forecast is mentioned in a study by Urban Institute.) 

How AI Will Change the Face of Telehealth Services?

The integration of AI into telehealth is addressing two critical drivers of change in the industry:

1. High Volume Demand: The growing volume of data and patients will challenge healthcare providers. Artificial intelligence will streamline the interaction between clinicians and patients. It also helps manage remote data collected from smart wearables, virtual monitoring platforms, and healthcare apps. 

2. High Critical Applications: AI can prevent the incorrect distribution of demand versus supply by simplifying the triage process. It can also assist healthcare professionals in analyzing which patients need immediate attention and who can wait. 

The use of artificial intelligence in telehealth goes beyond mere data processing. It's actively contributing to:

1. Intelligent Matching: Match the clinical skills and availability of care providers according to the patient's needs. This intelligent matching brings great satisfaction to patients without visiting the hospitals in person. 
2. Patient Guidance: Accurately analyzes the real-time symptoms of the patients and suggests whether they should undergo telemedicine or physical examinations. It reduces clinician burnout and helps them physically and virtually manage their patients.

AI Enables New Models of Care in Remote Healthcare 

Beyond improving existing practices in telemedicine, AI is improving quality patient care through: 

1. Conversational Agents and Virtual Assistants

AI-powered bots and virtual assistants are enforcing care after virtual consultations. They remind patients to adhere to personalized treatments and lifestyle adjustments suggested by doctors. 

These bots also alert patients whenever their heartbeat or blood pressure is about to cross safe levels. NLP in AI bots encourages patients to ask basic health-related queries in their native language. By integrating these bots with the hospitals' knowledge management system, healthcare providers can educate patients about their services and further guide them to the right care. 

2. Remote Patient Monitoring and Management

AI is making chronic disease management feasible even from remote locations through integration with wearable devices and sensors. This integration enhances doctors' capabilities, allowing them to intervene timely in case of emergency and automate the assessment of recovery progress in chronic disease patients. 

How AI Improves the Quality of Telehealth Services

Providing the same level of care online through videoconferencing or calls is challenging. In fact, it is one of the reasons why many patients are hesitant to use telehealth services. AI can balance the quality of existing clinical practices and service delivery. How?

• By Guiding in Clinical Assessment and Evaluation

AI can help clinicians better understand remote patients' symptoms and health conditions. AI improves remote assessments based on past medical history and current health stats by prompting and suggesting the most suitable questions to ask the patients. 

• By Advancing Tele-diagnosis 

AI can increase the accuracy of remote medical diagnosis. Diagnosing melanoma depends on doctors' experience and training in fields like teledermatology. However, an AI algorithm can accurately diagnose the conditions using convolutional neural networks. In a recent study, AI was more accurate than 50 dermatologists in diagnosing melanoma. 

In another example, deep convolutional neural networks accurately classified skin lesions only through images. These studies show that AI's capabilities are similar to human experts and may surpass them in the upcoming years with more accurate data. 

Benefits of Using Artificial Intelligence in Telemedicine For Patients

AI is equally beneficial for patients and clinicians in the telehealth segment. Let's see how

• 24/7 Access to Healthcare

AI-powered apps and software development will make healthcare services even more accessible for patients. They can help with initial consultations, guide patients through symptom-checking, and suggest whether they need to see a specialist.

• Personalized Care

AI will facilitate personalized care. It can analyze patient data and medical history and suggest recommendations approved by doctors. 

• Language and Accessibility Support

AI can connect clinicians and patients from different cultures and language-speaking regions through real-time language translation bots. For patients with limited mobility or disabilities, AI makes telemedicine accessible through voice commands.

Conclusion

Integrating AI into telehealth represents a significant leap forward in healthcare delivery. It promises to enhance accessibility, improve diagnostic accuracy, and enable more personalized and efficient care. However, this integration must be approached thoughtfully, with careful consideration of ethical implications and a focus on improving patient outcomes.

As we move forward, the success of AI in telehealth will depend not just on technological advancements but also on how well these systems are integrated into existing healthcare frameworks and accepted by providers and patients. 

The future of telemedicine depends on how healthcare maintains the balance between technological innovation and human-centered care. AI service providers will play a major role in bringing this future.