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Zoomtopia: AI and Video to Power Healthcare

Monday September 20, 2021. 06:48 PM , from eWeek
At the recent Zoomtopia event, the company touted its ability to power digital healthcare.
Zoom already integrates with popular electronic health record (EHR) systems, such as Epic. This allowed the company to quickly shift to telehealth at the start of COVID-19. People were comfortable using Zoom to video chat with family, friends, and co-workers, so the transition was fairly seamless when it came to delivering virtual care to patients via Zoom, Bill Shickolovich, the company’s CIO advisor of healthcare, said during a keynote address at the Zoomtopia event.
While doctors have returned to taking in-person visits, patients want to maintain some aspect of convenience with remote care. This means healthcare organizations must rethink how and why they’re offering care to patients. Some questions to consider, according to Shickolovich, is the visit needed for diagnostic purposes? Is it a follow-up? Is it a clinical assessment that can’t be virtualized? Is it a meeting with a care coordinator?
“We need to push digital transformation forward in healthcare. We need to consider the communication needs within the care continuum and determine where the opportunity is to enhance the engagement,” Heidi West, head of healthcare at Zoom, said during the keynote, which focused on Zoom’s vision for healthcare as the world adjusts to a new normal.
Virtual care is evolving to be fully digitized
One way to move forward is to view virtual care as more than just a video visit. Virtual care is about helping people manage their disease at home and providing follow-up care after a patient is dismissed from a hospital. It’s about having a mobile physician that can “see” patients anywhere in the world, at any time. It’s about closing the digital divide and providing care to people through affordable technology.
Patients have to become the center of care—from coordinating virtual appointments to engaging with family members to bringing in specialties who determine a course of treatment. That’s why Zoom is determined to break down communication silos, which exist in healthcare today, said West. Specifically, the company is focused on providing value-based care and lowering the rising costs of healthcare.
With a traditional care model, there is too much emphasis on charging fees for services. However, a value-based care model centers on collaboration and sharing results to give patients potentially better outcomes. The key is to make this model sustainable enough to convert both patients (convenience) and providers (profit).
Artificial intelligence plays a key role digital healthcare
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that can accelerate value-based care without complicating an already complex delivery system, said Ash Damle, co-founder of Healiom, a healthcare logistics startup.
Its platform connects patients via Zoom to physicians in in less than 10 minutes by tapping into a specialist network and AI. Every patient is assessed and triaged by Healiom’s AI engine, Holmes, and two specialists without an appointment.
“We take data and apply AI, considering a patient’s past medical history, vitals, and other aspects. So, we can understand what’s going on, who they need to see, how fast. It’s an extraordinary opportunity that we have today in healthcare,” said Damle.
Looking ahead, platforms like Healiom could provide patients with instant access to healthcare using pre-visit and post-visit logistics. Pre-visit logistics involves deviceless screening through video and audio. Healthcare providers can use conversational triage AI to gather details about a patient’s symptoms, including real-time vitals (pulse rate, respiration, oxygenation). Post-visit logistics involves data-activated follow-ups to ensure patients received proper care.
This kind of innovation is likely to push organizations to become more comfortable with disrupting the traditional healthcare experience.
The post Zoomtopia: AI and Video to Power Healthcare appeared first on eWEEK.
https://www.eweek.com/cloud/zoomtopia-ai-and-video-to-power-healthcare/
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