#Ada Health

[jcmarchi]

Transforming Telehealth: How AI-Powered Virtual Consultations and Remote Monitoring Are Shaping the Future of Healthcare

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/transforming-telehealth-how-ai-powered-virtual-consultations-and-remote-monitoring-are-shaping-the-future-of-healthcare/

Transforming Telehealth: How AI-Powered Virtual Consultations and Remote Monitoring Are Shaping the Future of Healthcare

As technology reshapes various industries, healthcare is undergoing some of the most significant transformations. Originally developed to monitor astronauts’ health in space, telehealth has emerged as a crucial healthcare tool, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This development has now entered a new phase with the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI-powered virtual consultations and remote monitoring are increasingly becoming essential, effectively closing the gap between doctors and patients. This article explores how the integration of AI and telehealth is ushering in a new era of medical practices, transforming accessibility and efficiency of healthcare delivery.

What is Telehealth?

Telehealth refers to the delivery of healthcare services and information via telecommunications and digital communication technologies. This method allows patients to access medical care remotely, eliminating the need for in-person visits to a doctor’s office or hospital. Telehealth encompasses a broad range of services including virtual medical consultations, health education, remote monitoring of vital signs, and the transmission of medical imaging and health data. The primary goal of telehealth is to make healthcare more accessible, particularly for those in remote or underserved areas, and to enhance the convenience and efficiency of care management for both patients and providers.

The Evolution of Telehealth

Telehealth is not new; it began in the early 20th century with the use of radio and telephone to reach remote patients. The introduction of television and later the internet expanded its capabilities, incorporating video calls for consultations and more robust digital communication platforms. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated telehealth adoption, making it essential for managing non-emergency consultations safely. With recent AI integrations, telehealth has transitioned from a simple communication tool to a sophisticated platform capable of delivering personalized healthcare services.

AI-Powered Virtual Consultations and Remote Monitoring

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming telehealth by enhancing its efficiency, accessibility, and personalization. AI-driven telehealth platforms, employing tools like chatbots, autonomously handle patient interactions, schedule appointments, and deliver medical information. Advanced AI algorithms are used to analyze comprehensive patient data, predict health outcomes, and notify healthcare providers of critical changes in a patient’s condition, enabling prompt medical responses. Here are some examples of widely used AI-powered telehealth systems:

Ada Health: This AI-chatbot offers personalized health assessments and guides users to appropriate medical care levels. Ada employs sophisticated AI techniques, such as probabilistic reasoning and Bayesian methods, to simplify and accelerate the diagnostic process. It enables precise symptom assessment against a database containing 3,600 conditions and over 31,000 ICD-10 codes, encompassing 99.5% of all diagnosable conditions. With more than 13 million global users, Ada Health exemplifies transparent, explainable AI in healthcare, providing clear insights into the diagnostic process.

OneRemission: This application is designed to support cancer survivors, fighters, and their supporters. It features an AI-powered chatbot that offers round-the-clock support, handling inquiries about cancer care and post-treatment lifestyle practices. Using cutting-edge AI technologies like natural language processing and machine learning, the chatbot quickly delivers information on nutrition, exercise, and stress management, and can escalate concerns to healthcare professionals as needed.

Teladoc Health: This platform leverages AI to optimize telehealth appointment scheduling and enhance patient outcomes by facilitating connections between patients and doctors. It functions across various technologies, including mobile devices, the internet, and video and phone communications. The services provided span a broad spectrum of medical needs, from common ailments such as flu and respiratory infections to more severe, chronic conditions like cancer and congestive heart failure

Babylon Health: Babylon offers a wide range of healthcare services via its AI-driven app, from assessing symptoms to conducting full virtual consultations. The app allows users to connect with doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals via phone or video calls. The app employs AI to track user behavior, which supports the early detection of health issues and enables timely preventive measures to enhance overall health.

Biofourmis: This telehealth platform enhances healthcare delivery with its AI-driven analytics engine, Biovitals, that monitors real-time biomarkers. It allows for the early detection of changes in vital signs, promoting proactive healthcare interventions. It processes continuous physiological data, creating a personalized biometric signature for each patient. The system has successfully predicted heart failure decompensation up to 12 days in advance, improving patient care and bringing hospital-level services and clinical trials directly to patients’ homes.

Advantages of AI in Telehealth

The integration of AI into telehealth is bridging the gap between patients and healthcare providers, offering significant advantages that promise to reshape the future of medical practice. Some of the advantages include:

Enhanced Quality of Consultations: AI provides personalized, efficient, and consistent medical advice, improving the accuracy of treatments and reducing variability in care.

Predictive Insights: AI’s ability to process large datasets enables it to anticipate disease progression, identify high-risk patients, and recommend preventative measures. Systems like Biofourmis’ Biovitals Analytics Engine process physiological data to predict events like heart failure decompensation days in advance, allowing for early intervention and potentially preventing hospital admissions.

Improved Patient Engagement and Education: AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants, such as Ada Health and OneRemission, interact with patients to provide health education, answer queries, and guide them through their healthcare journey. This not only enhances patient knowledge and engagement but also ensures that patients receive consistent support and guidance.

Operational Efficiency in Healthcare Delivery: By automating routine tasks such as scheduling appointments and processing patient inquiries, AI allows healthcare facilities to optimize their operations and focus more resources on critical care activities. This efficiency gain reduces overhead costs and improves service delivery.

The Bottom Line

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with telehealth is transforming healthcare by enhancing accessibility, efficiency, and personalization. AI-powered systems, such as Ada Health, OneRemission, Teladoc Health, Babylon Health, and Biofourmis, are transforming how healthcare is delivered by providing advanced diagnostics, personalized consultations, and continuous remote monitoring. This integration not only improves the quality of healthcare consultations but also enables predictive insights that can anticipate disease progression and mitigate risks, thereby increasing operational efficiency and reducing healthcare costs. As these technologies evolve, they promise to bridge the gap between patients and providers, making healthcare more accessible and effective, particularly for underserved population.

[lotus-pear]

started playing mayoi and i forgot how much i missed them😭

[alwayssunnysideblog]

precursor to the dtamhd breakdown gifset i will inevitably make

[lechiita-miilk]

2024 Art Summary

August I stopped taking my meds because I couldn't draw much at all, im missing a few months and some of these I only had one piece...

Things haven’t really been going that great and I’m reaching a point idk

[agentidiot]

okay so i rewatched 1st season of peaky blinders here are my thoughts no one asked about:

tommy shelby is an idion

freddie and tommy probably fucked before and that's why they're so bitter

freddie is manipulating a pregnant ada wtf

GRACE'S LAST NAME IS DUNN????

what are their ages btw

tommy shelby is also a slut

arthur has daddy kink in a way you need to have a second for it to sink in the way i mean it

he also has biggest daddy issues in this family

polly is more violent than i remember but yeah snatch that glass from tommy's hand and throw it on the wall queen

tommy shelby is also pretty

esme is my s1 crush forever

sam neill is such a good actor i hate campbell guts literally throwing up every time i see him

i might need a pre war freddie/tommy fic

tommy shelby is such an oblivious idiot

[tiny-chubby-bird]

two days of blood, sweat and tears finally paid off.

[lesbianyosano]

never getting over the way people look at the early chapters of bsd and the way dazais suicide attempts are framed and the ada’s response to them and come to the conclusion that 'the ada doesn’t care about dazai’ rather than 'asagiri has some questionable views'

[sskk-manifesto]

(*・ω・*)b♪

[sunset-of-the-void]

Should probably note this is half a fan account for my friend's doodles in our dms because we mutually send each other art. They sent this and ive been insane im eating rocks turn me into a cucumber and an avocado everyone LOOOK. I am scheduling this for later but oh my god oh my god oh my god

[wishfilled]

Existing is exhausting.

I have type 1 diabetes, depression, anxiety, and a few other issues, but the main one got fixed by surgery in April. The problem is that the fix was done, but there was no scientific reason why part of my colon had adhered to my pelvic bone. Without a cause; I am constantly afraid that every pain or stomach issue is a sign that, once again, something is going majorly wrong. I know nothing I did caused the issue and that nothing I do can help prevent it from occurring again. I know that all my worry does is stress me. None of that matters, though, since the worry sneaks in.

I have so much I need to do and accomplish to correct the household (cleaning, finances, and more) that fell to the wayside while I was bedbound and medicated. I try to do a little each day, but the massive amount of what needs doing is overwhelming to me.

Then you add in that I fell for a scam and thought I found a way to get my pup her official certs for service (she it trained to get me help if I go too low and need it), but it was a scam and PayPal says that it isn't a scam so they refused to get my money back.

It was late, and my scrolling and googling led me down a rabbit hole that led to the Assistance Dogs of America site (yeah, they got ADA in their name). They then sell real decent dog gear and a fake registration. THERE IS NO FEDERAL LIST. There is no required certificates. This company exists to get money from desperate people with disabilities who are looking for help. It is so disheartening and has just increased my mental dark cloud. It wasn’t a ton of money they got from me, but it was enough for at least a week's worth of groceries.

I'm mainly sharing to prevent anyone else from falling for their garbage.

[dennisboobs]

i like it when new people show up, interact with my posts, and very quickly discover that ronald mcdonald is my mortal enemy

[arolesbianism]

I've been thinking abt my critter dupes some more and it was all fun and games until I remembered that I made Mi-ma a beeta and hm. Whoops. Uh oh. (<- Considered the implications for more than 2 seconds)

[sp1ed]

peeks my head in here after barely being active for the past 3 months

[horrocious]

why have my writing updates slowed to a crawl? depression, lmao

[dragon-seahorse]

my Nanbaka Fallout AU and a currently forming BSD Apocalypse AU are fighting in my brain at the moment and it's kinda funny

[wat3rm370n]

Do we want hospitals that are clearly not pandemic-ready at all?

And this when we still have a pandemic virus currently circulating?

All staff, every last person working in a hospital should be provided with N95 respiratory protection. 

OSHA -  By Standard Number 1910.134 - Respiratory protection. 1910.134(a)(2) A respirator shall be provided to each employee when such equipment is necessary to protect the health of such employee.

Every last person working in an environment that’s high risk for aerosol transmission of disease as a workplace hazard should be offered respiratory protection and fit-testing. That’s all over a hospital, because patients and healthcare workers are breathing the same air traveling through hallways all over facilities. Frankly it was always the case with other pathogens that put already vulnerable people at risk, and now, because of lack of community based mitigations, covid might be present anywhere. 

Hospital corporations choosing to not allow or provide fit-testing to all employees should certainly not be used as an excuse not to provide N95s to healthcare workers or to deny people accommodation in healthcare settings. But, apparently that’s what’s happening in some places. This is the response given to someone after asking for ADA accommodation for the staff to wear N95 respirator masks during a medical procedure in a Massachusetts hospital:

In regards to your request that all providers and staff at the Surgical Center wear an N95 mask, this request cannot be accommodated. At the current time, physicians and staff are not required to mask in all settings. There are exceptions (i.e. during a surgical procedure, if a patient has respiratory symptoms, or if a patient/staff has had a recent COVID exposure). In addition, not all staff are fit tested for N95 masks. Fit testing is based upon job role and responsibility. Therefore, ensuring that each staff member you come into contact with wears an N95 mask is not a reasonable accommodation.

Clearly pretzel logic - and what, just to cut costs?

The blood lab I was at this summer had to go look for a mask when asked to mask. I’ve heard 2 other stories of when someone asks a healthcare provider to mask they say they have to go find someone to get them one. We’ve been in a prolonged surge, so why aren’t they wearing them by default? At a minimum N95 masks should be available everywhere in healthcare for all staff and all patients.

My letter to reps: 

Healthcare providers need to be stopped from using “fit testing” as an excuse to not wear N95 respirator masks as a reasonable accommodation in healthcare to protect vulnerable people and patients undergoing procedures requiring them to be unmasked, and thus making “one way masking” impossible. This is ridiculous. Either make the healthcare providers fit test all their staff and provide N95s to all staff - because all staff should be aerosol transmission pandemic-ready after all, or mandate that there needs to be an exception to this rule for reasonable accommodation. Denying healthcare workers and patients this safety by citing that fit testing in a hospital is not reasonable is itself ridiculous. PPE cannot and should not be considered “unreasonable” in a hospital setting. Respirator masks should be available to all staff and all patients at all times since there’s no shortages anymore and hasn’t been for years now.

Please feel free to repurpose for your own letters to reps.