Coalition, Politico host event on the role of telehealth, other technologies in advancing patient care

The Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare Sept. 18 sponsored an event with Politico in Washington, D.C. to discuss innovations in telehealth, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies impacting patient care and access.

Nancy Howell Agee, CEO of Carilion Clinic and chair of the Coalition, shared how telehealth, AI and other technological advancements have been enhancing patient outcomes during an interview with Heidi Sommer, vice president of client partnerships at Politico. Carilion Clinic is piloting a program from Microsoft where patients can ask questions about their care and receive answers instantly, in addition to many of the health system's primary care practices using voice-recognition software to capture patient and provider conversations for the patient's medical record.

Agee said the system is also piloting drones to deliver medication and supplies. "Imagine sending medication to someone's home who is in a rural area or perhaps doesn't have a CVS nearby," she said. "Imagine being in the middle of the supply chain as someone in materials management and you need linen supplies or you need something else, and you can get that almost instantly with your drones… That has huge meaning in rural areas."

The system has also experienced immediate benefits from using two companion robots, or cobots, which are collaborative robots that deliver supplies around their facilities when needed. When asked how policymakers, administrative officials and patient advocates could collaborate to advance technologies while protecting patient outcomes, Agee said that "both human and financial resources" are necessary to provide the services needed to achieve outcomes. She also asked policymakers to consider that hospitals are providing care 24/7, 365 days a year.

The event also featured an interview with Micky Tripathi, Department of Health and Human Services assistant secretary for technology policy, national coordinator for health information technology and acting chief artificial intelligence officer. Tripathi spoke on the possibility of a national network of AI assurance laboratories in addition to AI regulation. A panel discussion on AI data collection, risks, reliance and other AI-related topics featured Kolaleh Eskandanian, vice president and chief innovation officer at Children's National Hospital, Andrea Downing, president and co-founder of the Light Collective, and Daniel Payne, Politico health care reporter. The AHA is a founding member of the Coalition.