Getting Ready for the AI Era of Virtual Healthcare
As the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into virtual healthcare accelerates, healthcare leaders must prepare strategically to fully leverage its potential. Experts predict significant advancements in AI technologies will enhance both the efficacy and accessibility of virtual care in 2026.
Strategic Preparation for AI Integration
Healthcare provider organizations are encouraged to adopt a tactical approach, focusing on three critical areas: infrastructure, staffing, and vendor partnerships.
Create Vetting Processes and Guardrails
With the rapid evolution of AI, it is essential for organizations to establish internal guidelines to ensure the safe and responsible use of AI in virtual care settings. Effective governance becomes crucial, especially when managing the liability of AI integration in clinical applications. Approaches like human-in-the-loop systems, where human oversight is maintained, are vital.
Dr. Joshua Jones emphasizes that AI is not yet ready for primetime as a diagnostic tool, particularly in telemental healthcare, necessitating human interpretation alongside AI outputs.
Establish Patient and Provider Trust in AI
Building trust in AI tools is paramount for their adoption in virtual healthcare. Dr. Caroline Goldzweig highlights the importance of integrating AI into the patient-provider relationship rather than replacing it. Trust is strengthened when both patients and providers are confident in the reliability of AI tools. Transparency regarding the functionality of AI recommendations is also critical to clinician trust.
Incorporate Change Management into Provider Training
Encouraging AI adoption requires more than mere trust; effective and ongoing training is essential. CEOs like Michael Dalton advocate for change management to be included in AI training programs, ensuring clinicians understand the tools and how to utilize them effectively.
Develop a Vendor Selection Strategy
With a surge of AI tools available, virtual care leaders must be strategic in their vendor selection. Analyzing both clinical outcomes and the metrics vendors provide to demonstrate efficacy is crucial. Leaders should seek vendors whose solutions align with their governance frameworks and can provide standardized data on performance and risk.
Implement Data Processes and IT Infrastructure
As AI-enabled virtual care grows, healthcare organizations must ensure their data processes and IT infrastructure can support these advancements. Accessible and usable data is key for AI integration. Organizations should aim to eliminate data silos and create a centralized data lake that allows seamless data integration.
With the rapid advancement of AI technologies, it is inevitable that virtual care will undergo transformative changes. Organizations that proactively implement thoughtful governance and IT frameworks will find it easier to integrate AI into their virtual healthcare practices.
