By Mary Gorder

AI and robotics are no longer a sci-fi fantasy. Yet, even with today’s technologies, many Americans aren’t taking advantage of the vast benefits they can offer.

Despite having access to new, sophisticated technology, healthcare facilities are limited by red tape, preventing them from effectively streamlining their operations. But with increasing pressure to reduce costs and improve services, the industry is finally poised to jump on board and reap the benefits of AI technology.

Faced with rising costs, an aging population and physician shortage, the healthcare industry is navigating in an unsustainable system. Healthcare administrators are being urged to cut costs and increase the quality of care, but this isn’t an easy feat to accomplish. Most often, effective cost reduction comes with significant sacrifices that negatively affect the quality of patient care. Harvard Business Review found that the majority of hospital administrators typically make cuts to the most obvious expenses. “Personnel, space, equipment, and supplies are attractive targets, reducing spending on them appears to generate immediate results. But the reductions are usually made without considering the best mix of resources needed to deliver excellent patient outcomes in an efficient manner.” Emerging at the forefront in cost saving and efficient technology for medical facilities is the use of telehealth. Studies have already demonstrated potential savings of up to 19% when compared to inpatient care costs, with the benefits of virtual care proving to be even more substantial.

Physician shortage plagues the U.S.
Physician shortage is a real phenomenon, plaguing the U.S. with a slew of problems. Not only does physician shortage have a direct impact on the ability to provide patient care, but it also has a destructive effect on the physicians themselves who find themselves demoralized, stressed out, and at a higher risk of experiencing burnout. Technology promises to ease this burden with automated solutions that allow physicians to focus on the patient-doctor relationship, rather than occupy themselves with rules, regulations and paperwork. Electronic Health Records (EHR) were originally designed to help reduce this encumbrance, but in the long run, are proving to be a hindrance. However, pairing EHR with advanced analytic applications, such as the enterprise data warehouse (EDW) platform, will enable a data-driven focus that improves processes and outcomes, allowing doctors to see more patients without the bureaucracy of a compensation-focused system.

Offering virtual visits via video, mobile apps, and text-based messaging has the merit of reducing physicians’ stress while maximizing the use of their time. With the flexible schedules made possible by telemedicine, doctors will have greater job satisfaction and better work/family balance.

Telemedicine is improving patient outcomes
Telemedicine also promises a broader reach into understaffed rural areas, giving patients remote access to specialists that are not available in isolated communities. Virtual scheduling capabilities also drastically reduce the number of cancelled or missed appointments because patients don’t have to leave the comfort of their homes. Driving down no-show numbers streamlines the system and makes better use of physicians’ precious time, enabling them to be more effective in their day-to-day activities.

Requiring physicians and senior nurses to perform data collection tasks, such as patient and symptom information, is inefficient and time-consuming. The compilation of data can be easily streamlined with interactive AI technologies prior to appointments, removing the need for standard intake questions, which senior staff usually complete. Transferring data-related tasks to digital system operations allows medical staff to maximize the application of their skill sets. The Mayo Clinic is currently piloting “Sense.Ly”, an interactive AI platform that uses a virtual nurse named Molly who, with dynamically generated speech designed to provide an emotional connection to patients, supplies symptom triage, gives advice and schedules appointments. AI systems like these lead to higher quality care, which in turn reduces costs for both patients and health care facilities. Virtual medical assistants can also process a higher volume of patients, thus improving processes and optimizing operations.

As annual visit rates climb to an all-time high, a greater focus is being placed on the way emergency departments are being used. Technology is one of the ways emergency overuse is being managed and reduced. When primary care appointments can’t be scheduled, Americans turn to the on-demand service provided by ER units. As a result, emergency departments are clogged with patients who should be directed toward other services. Patients often end up in the ER when faced with lack of insurance or a primary care physician’s limited availability. Normally, the addition of personnel would help compensate for this problem, but hospitals have shown equal or improved identification of patient outcomes when utilizing a machine learning based Electronic Triage System (ETS). The E-triage system calculates the emergency severity index (ESI) based on an algorithm that can “identify relationships between predictive data and patient outcomes.” The system rapidly assesses the patient and directs them to appropriate care, cutting down wait times and ER overuse.

Wearable technology monitors chronic diseases
Because of their ability to automatically gather health data, wearable sensors and biometric devices are giving doctors and their patients increased access to information. These devices enable health care providers to detect and diagnose many diseases much earlier, allowing for more precise and timely treatment. The use of sensors by primary care physicians for monitoring hypertension management alone is freeing up to 47.8 million hours across the PCP workforce, which accounts for 26% of outpatient visits annually. By combining the use of sensors with telehealth, “estimates show this would free up roughly 1.9 million hours across the PCP workforce.” This technology gives patients access to real-time consultations, where it addresses questions and concerns, and consequently provides treatment options – all within a few minutes.

The adoption of AI across the health care system faces many challenges despite adamant support from both physicians and patients. With the costs of health care benefits having risen another 5% in 2018, encouraging insurers to pursue telehealth as a cost-saving measure along with the “Large Employers’ 2018 Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey, virtually all employers (96%) will make telehealth services available in states where it is allowed next year.” As well, only 50% of U.S. states have telemedicine parity laws, with no guarantee that providers will offer the service at a comparable payment. Furthermore, small practices don’t generally have the resources to invest in AI technologies. However, the hopeful implementation of federally sponsored telehealth programs, along with the support of insurers and legislators, will allow cutting-edge health care technology to thrive, showering its limitless benefits onto Americans for a healthier and more brilliant future.

About the author: Mary Gorder is the Founder and CEO of Drs. On Calls, a telemedicine platform that develops, markets and operates house medical calls, virtual telemedicine service and concierge medical services.