Dhruv Suyamprakam is the CEO and Founder of virtual healthcare company iCliniq; Its physician board includes more than 3,500 physicians from more than 80 specialties in the US, UK, United Arab Emirates, India, Singapore and Germany. He believes that ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence models like it are not a threat to healthcare but an improvement. And he says the benefits are just beginning.
At iCliniq, Suyamprakasam is developing what he calls an “AI as an ally” mindset. The focus is on finding out the truth Advantages and limitations of ChatGPT. He recognizes ChatGPT and other AI applications as productivity enhancers for both virtual and face-to-face care providers.
We interviewed Suyamprakam to discuss his views on AI. He talked about some of the specific challenges that telemedicine faces and described how ChatGPT and similar LLMs can help overcome them.
Q. What are some of the challenges that telemedicine faces that ChatGPT can help with?
ONE. Currently, the US is facing a shortage of doctors and it doesn’t look like the situation will improve any time soon. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the United States will face a shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians in all specialties and subspecialties over the next decade.
With waiting times for new patients has skyrocketed, averaging around 26 days in major markets, according to AMN Healthcare, adding a shortage of doctors will lead to a bigger health crisis. This will ultimately contribute to a reduction in the quality of care that patients can receive and is especially true for patients living in rural areas where accessibility issues are already present.
In addition to the shortage of doctors, effectively managing their time is becoming a burden. On average, doctors spend more than three hours a day on paperwork. After each patient visit, they must correctly summarize and record the visit – add any updates made to the patient file or create a new patient file.
This time-consuming process often exhausts doctors, increasing the chances of documentation errors or unverified files.
As doctors continue to spend more and more time on administrative tasks, they have less and less opportunity to focus on research. As a result, advances such as new prescription research and testing, finding cures, and even innovating patient experience and care have all slowed.
Q. You strongly believe that ChatGPT is not a threat to healthcare. Please describe your “AI as an ally” approach and how it relates to clinicians working in telemedicine.
ONE. I firmly believe that we should train and use existing technological advancements, especially ChatGPT. Many people fear the potential power it can bring. Personally, I see the potential that it could benefit physicians while also fixing problems that exist in our healthcare system.
AI technology can aid in the education and training of medical students by providing them with detailed information and explanations about health management concepts, processes and plans, serving as a valuable learning resource for medical students to help them understand complex topics.
AI technologies will also be able to assist doctors in patient education by explaining medical conditions, treatment plans, medication instructions, and possible side effects. Finally, physicians focused on medical research can use AI assistance in reviewing relevant literature and summarizing key findings – extracting information from massive data, making research more efficient.
It’s important to note that AI is in its infancy, and it should still be reserved for doctors. It has advantages that make the daily life and work of well-educated doctors easier.
I have implemented an “AI as an ally” approach at my company. This mindset allows us to understand the ability of ChatGPT and other AI to enhance our work experience.
Our team sees AI as a technology that can help evolve our business model and approach to our customers. As technology advances, it’s always important to acknowledge both limitations and merits. In the healthcare sector, professionals must stay up-to-date with new technology so that it can be applied to their practice.
We recognize ChatGPT and other AI technologies as productivity boosters for healthcare providers, as well as for traditional and virtual hospitals that want to use the technology.
It is not our opponent, but an ally. In the healthcare industry, we believe there will always be a people-first approach. Doctors still need to be heavily involved in AI analysis. However, AI can help ease some administrative tasks and increase overall efficiency, giving doctors more time to focus on patient care and medical research.
AI can help improve the quality of patients’ telehealth visits by removing language barriers and cultural differences. AI can also give doctors the right language to convey information to patients in a way they understand.
In addition, ChatGPT-4 has the potential to help foster the creative thinking needed to solve problems and ultimately benefit the entire healthcare ecosystem in the future. With widespread AI improvements, doctors will likely discover new solutions to health problems for which there have been no limited treatments so far.
If implemented and monitored properly, AI has the potential to deliver better patient outcomes and contribute to advancing global healthcare.
Q. Looking at the aforementioned telehealth challenges you’ve described, how exactly can ChatGPT help overcome them?
ONE. AI can be used to overcome many challenges in the healthcare system. At a minimum, AI can be used to help physicians efficiently complete administrative tasks, act as a board that listens to research input, and provides decision support.
For administrative work, ChatGPT can be integrated into telemedicine platforms to provide initial assessment and triage to patients. AI can ask relevant questions about signs, symptoms, medical history, and other relevant details, and then make recommendations based on established protocols.
This can help streamline the process and ensure that patients receive appropriate care in a timely manner. It can also help with differential diagnosis, treatment options, and guidance based on symptoms and related information provided.
In addition, AI can assist in addressing the growing shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas. In settings where care is difficult to get, ChatGPT can assist with answering patients’ questions about their condition, providing resources and information on where to seek direct care, and even starting the process of delivering medication to the patient’s home.
We are in the early stages of implementing AI-related technologies to help reduce physician response times. We are looking for a way to have the necessary upfront administrative work automatically updated and available so that our skilled team of doctors can answer patients’ simple medical questions in a timely manner.
It is very important to note that while ChatGPT can provide valuable assistance, ChatGPT should not replace the expertise and judgment of trained healthcare professionals. It should be used as a tool to support their expertise and support their decision-making process.
Q. What will the future of AI in telemedicine look like in 5 years?
ONE. AI is beginning to cement its place in healthcare technology and this is something we will continue to see in the years to come. I predict that digital diagnostics will grow with AI assistance as phone cameras become more advanced.
More specifically, as phone cameras get smarter, this will likely affect live diagnostics. In-person visits allow healthcare providers to view patient behaviors and get a visual sense of how they are doing. Using AI, photography and video chat, doctors can now understand the same patient’s condition without being in the same room as them.
In turn, AI will be able to be used as a digital diagnostic tool. For example, in dermatology, cameras will be able to help diagnose skin conditions. In addition, for those who suspect they have an STI, they can share photos from the comfort of their own home and get an accurate diagnosis and even treatment with medication delivered to their door.
In short, we’ll see photos as a go-to line for providing information about what doctors are looking for in a diagnosis without having to see the patient.
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