Healthcare can feel like a waiting game. There are months spent waiting for appointments, long minutes waiting in exam rooms and days—even weeks—waiting for test results.
Personalized healthcare and concierge medicine can take some of the wait out of the waiting game. For a monthly fee, concierge medicine provides patients with true personalization in healthcare: immediate appointments, longer and more detailed visits with healthcare professionals, and round-the-clock access to physicians and medical information.
"Concierge medicine, like many other things we purchase, is an experience as much as it's care," Charles Dinerstein, a vascular surgeon and senior medical fellow at the consumer advocacy organization the American Council on Science and Health, told AARP Magazine. "You have a much more personalized, intimate encounter with your concierge doctor."
But medical professionals are human. They can't always be available at any time of day—and they can't process the amounts of data needed to generate personalized healthcare recommendations. AI in healthcare can help reduce delays (and doctor burnout) via the use of chatbots and omnichannel patient experience solutions.
Omnichannel personalized healthcare
A visit with a concierge medical service could begin with a chatbot. Many healthcare organizations use AI chatbots on their websites and mobile apps to initiate a prepaid concierge telehealth visit with an available physician.
Personalization in healthcare requires data—lots of data. The more data that's generated, the more personalized the care. AI can analyze healthcare data from hundreds of patients and analyze that data to triage individual patient scenarios and direct them to the right medical service area. AI can help improve the accuracy of assigning patients to the proper care team from the initial point of contact and can provide deeper insight into the type of care patients need. Having this information readily available lets physicians spend more time diagnosing, even if the patient isn't seen in person.
Chatbots might be the first interaction with AI that patients have, but they're not the only AI-powered technology being leveraged in telehealth. Chatbots are just one part of an omnichannel patient engagement strategy, directing patients to an area of a website or transferring them to a video call with a live representative. Healthcare is a complex ecosystem, and communicating accurate information in a timely manner can mean the difference between life and death. Omnichannel platforms cut through the complexity to ensure high levels of personalized patient care. They also help medical facilities handle more patients at once—and at lower costs.
Network infrastructure requirements to support AI in healthcare
Healthcare facilities that offer AI-powered concierge telehealth services need a scalable network infrastructure that can handle high volumes of traffic. That network infrastructure will need:
- Reliable high-speed broadband with high bandwidth
- A reliable cloud service that can store vast amounts of data and access it quickly
- Internet of Things and AI technologies, such as digital stethoscopes, that support routine procedures
- Trained IT specialists
- Call center operations for patients who need specific information before speaking with a doctor
Patients will need to do a little lifting to make sure that concierge telehealth services work, too—they will need a reliable internet connection and a connected device with a camera and microphone.
AI will not replace doctors, but it will work with healthcare professionals to provide more personalized, more efficient medical care.
Learn how Verizon healthcare solutions are changing doctor-patient relationships and laying the groundwork for personalized healthcare.
The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.