Healthcare is changing, don't get left behind

Wellstand Health experts Dr. Anthony Napolitano, CEO and Paul Tindall, CTO recently attended the Becker’s Healthcare event in Chicago on how to address foundational aspects of digital transformation, telehealth, clinician burnout, the revenue cycle, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. The theme of the conference: “Healthcare is changing. Don’t get left behind. ”

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Below are the highlights of this insightful event, including the recommended focus areas that will help you maximize success moving forward:

Generative AI has arrived in Healthcare, and for good reason.

Historically, with respect to AI, the healthcare space has focused on investments in predictive models that improve diagnosis and other preventative measures. However, with the emergence of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, generative AI took center stage at the Becker’s event.

Generative AI has a wide range of potential applications in healthcare, including:

• Call center automation: Generative AI can be used to automate certain customer service interactions, freeing up human call center representatives to focus on more urgent concerns.
• Provider/patient interaction: Generative AI can be used to improve provider/patient communication and engagement. For example, chatbots can be used to provide patients with 24/7 support, answering patient questions, providing educational resources, and scheduling appointments.
• Patient education: Generative AI can be used to create personalized educational materials for patients, helping them to better understand their conditions and treatment options.
  

It is important to note that AI is not a replacement for human healthcare professionals. Rather, AI is an augmentation tool that can help healthcare professionals provide better care to their patients.

Some at the conference voiced their understandably wary of the potential risks of generative AI in healthcare. There is potential for misinformation in the field that can least afford to do so.

While this must be approached with extreme caution, the benefits of AI are clear and are exactly why we are already investing in AI in the Wellstand platform to improve the patient experience, while maintaining the accuracy and trust of the doctor / patient relationship.

Improving Access and modernizing the Patient Experience with Digital Tools

We are entering the consumerization era of healthcare. Patients expect the same customer-centric experience they receive when they interact with providers in the retail, travel, and banking industries.  

Several speakers at the Becker’s event zeroed in on the modernization of the Patient experience, highlighting how providers continue to embrace and invest in digital. One particular opportunity represents something we are very passionate about at Wellstand Health; improving the Pharmacy patient experience by getting treatment to a patient wherever there are.

• As we’ve discussed previously, Pharmacy Deserts, areas where the nearest pharmacy is over 15 minutes away, are a reality for between 15 million to 41 million Americans, representing over 40% of counties in the US.
• This lack of access to essential medications and pharmaceutical services can have serious implications for health outcomes.
• Lack of access and cost to broadband presents a challenge for these patients as well.

However there is good reason to believe that significant progress can be made here. The US recently appropriated $65 Billion to close the digital divide and ensure universal access to reliable, high-speed, and affordable broadband across the United States.

Another area of advancement highlighted at the event was the discussion of drone technology in providing additional access to underserved areas:

• Already today, drones are being utilized in places like Rwanda to deliver life-saving supplies, reducing in-hospital maternal mortality by 88%.
• During the pandemic, testing showed that drones could be successfully utilized for diagnostics delivery and retrieval at remote locations.

This presents a tremendous opportunity for the pharmaceutical space to deliver prescriptions to pharmacy deserts.

Of course, providers will need to approach all of these innovations with a crawl, walk, run approach but Wellstand Health promises to be a partner in bringing these transformational opportunities to life.