Florida Researchers Studying Artificial Intelligence Use in Telehealth

University of Central Florida researchers are working on a study to determine whether artificial intelligence integrated into telehealth visits can improve provider training and patient outcomes.

Telehealth has improved patient access to care, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has helped patients and providers avoid in-person visits and reduced waiting room crowds. Telehealth advocates expect that the platform will be integrated with in-person visits beyond the pandemic to form a hybrid healthcare standard of care.

But it has its limitations, and some point out that mistakes can be made when a physician sees a patient in a virtual visit rather than in person.. Those mistakes can lead to misdiagnoses and unaddressed health issues. In addition, medical tests such as blood pressure checks can be difficult during a telehealth visit without proper equipment or remote patient monitoring tools. 

“As technology advances in healthcare, it can facilitate ease of use, reduced travel time and more,” Roger Azevedo, the principal investigator of the project and professor at UCF’s School of Modeling Simulation and Training, said in a press release. “But there’s also new problems that arise, including the potential for medical errors.”

To address these challenges, researchers at UCF are working on a project to use artificial intelligence during telehealth visits to help ensure that providers check all patient signs and symptoms during appointments. The US National Science Foundation is funding the project.

The researchers will study doctor and patient behaviors during telehealth visits to determine the best way to incorporate artificial intelligence. They will observe eye movement, heart rate and verbal and nonverbal communication throughout the visits, according to the press release. 

The researchers will also work to improve diagnostics by noting if providers diagnose accurately and if they face any obstacles in the process.

Artificial intelligence could help reduce the number of misdiagnoses by reminding providers to check for certain symptoms that frequently go unnoticed during telehealth visits, such as the way the patient walks.

“We want to use AI to enhance the patient experience, so they get the care they need, and improve the doctor’s experience by facilitating diagnostic reasoning,” Azevedo said.

The researchers plan to consult physicians, psychologists, engineers and artificial intelligence industry leaders to gather suggestions and gain knowledge about the different ways AI technology could assist in telehealth. 

Their end goal is to use the information to improve physicians’ diagnostic processes through immersive technology, which in turn may improve telehealth care delivery. 

The UCF researchers will begin the project in January 2022.

Co-principal investigators of the project include Varadraj Gurupur, an associate professor at UCF’s School of Global Health Management and Informatics, Mindy Shoss, an associate professor in UCF’s department of psychology, Mark Neider, a professor in and associate chair of UCF’s department of psychology, and Dario Torre, director of programs assessment and professor at UCF’s College of Medicine.