How AI helps clinicians and consumers reach health goals

Given disruptive amounts of data, Dr. Ami B. Bhatt, CIO of the American College of Cardiologists and professor at Harvard Medical School, said it’s impossible for clinicians to use it in the best ways.

“I can’t actually give you, the patient, the optimal scientific, highly rigorous care that is available for you today in the 20 minutes that I have with you in the office,” Bhatt said. “I just can’t. The human brain can’t do that.”

Compiling research and data so it offers useful clinical insights is where generative AI has such promise if provided the right data.

“The intelligence doesn’t ever lie with the technology. The intelligence is ours,” Bhatt said. “The massive computing power, the ability to see connections that we can’t see, all of that lies with the computer power.”

The idea of “collaborative intelligence,” Bhatt said, uses the power of AI while keeping clinicians responsible. This approach allows clinicians to give high quality care that matches the latest science.

“If we train how to use AI right, I really feel better as a clinician at the end of that 20-minute visit and you’re getting better care as a patient,” Bhatt said.

AI can also ease the administrative burden many clinicians face. Microsoft’s Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX), an AI-powered voice-enabled solution, automatically documents patient visits for final review and signoff by the clinicians.

By using AI to document, clinicians can focus on connecting with patients during the visit. To support its own network of clinicians, Teladoc Health recently announced an expansion of its partnership with Microsoft to include DAX on its platform.

Steve Ramsay, Senior Leader at Microsoft Research Healthcare, said one key aspect of AI is the ability to quickly innovate. Innovation is enhanced with partnerships like Teladoc Health and Microsoft because of the amount of data it provides.

“The exciting thing is that with Teladoc Health, we have a lot of scale,” Ramsay said. “What you need in training these things is data. Scale brings a lot of data—both via the Solo platform, working with many health systems, as well as Teladoc Health’s own medical group.”

Teladoc Health is expanding how it uses AI, but AI is nothing new, with more than 60 AI models working as a foundational part of the business. Models enhance products and experiences, including driving member engagement.

“I cannot think of a more exciting time to be a marketer,” said Opeyemi Oluwole, SVP Consumer Engagement at Teladoc Health. “AI offers endless possibilities for us in terms of driving impact, efficiency and value, and ultimately, creating much better member experiences.”

One way AI can have a bigger impact is with a more proactive approach.

“Right now, we play a passive role in our interaction with these technologies,” said Pranav Rajpurkar, Assistant Professor of biomedical informatics at Harvard Medical School. “Imagine if these technologies were connected to our watches and our phones and told you, ‘Hey, you haven’t been eating or walking that healthy,’ now we actually have the technology to be able to do that.”

Possibilities also exist in enhanced personalization—something consumers expect in other industries. At Teladoc Health, personalization is foundational to engagement. With advancements in technology, Oluwole said moving from personalization to truly individualized communications is key in the future.

“We are going to leverage, in partnership with Microsoft, generative AI to develop individualized communications for our members,” Oluwole said.

How generative AI supports these efforts is with the scale it provides.

“Imagine how many copywriters we would need to create messages for everybody in this room,” Oluwole said.

Whether AI is being used for marketing or clinical purposes, Bhatt said the goals are the same: supporting the patient.

“What you (Oluwole) described is patient agency,” Bhatt said. “AI and this communication is actually going to make these people feel that this information is relevant to me. This is my health. These are my trends. I will engage better. That’s all I want as a cardiologist. I want you to engage.”

But implementing new technology requires investment in change management. Wang said that Teladoc Health is dedicated to educating teams beyond traditional research and development to better understand the technologies and be aware of potential risks.

“We want to use it responsibly to produce high quality, safe and thoughtful applications,” Wang said. Using technology responsibly is also something Teladoc Health seeks in a partner and found with Microsoft.

“Our responsible AI framework covers everything from privacy, accountability to inclusivity,” Ramsay said. “Because we want to make sure that the fundamentals behind the technology enable the responsible use of technology.”