On Wednesday, September 17, innovators in the eye care field gathered at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas for The AI Revolution: Navigating the Future. Over the course of the two-and-a-half hour event, attendees heard from leaders in the field on all things AI in eye care, including what the not-so distant future will look like. (Click the image to download the full proceedings booklet.)
The Patient Experience of Tomorrow Today
The event kicked off with an interactive session from AI in Eye Care’s Professional Co-Editor Scot Morris, OD. During his presentation, Dr. Morris explored the ways that AI will enhance every part of the patient experience, from more personalized treatments to enhanced diagnostics and operational efficiencies.
Throughout his discussion, Dr. Morris explained how eye care providers from every area in the industry will be engaging with eye care differently. AI-driven technologies such as remote monitoring through wearables and telemedicine will increase access and alter the way patients interact with their health care providers. Additionally, AI chatbots, can answer patients’ questions, provide educational materials and even help them schedule appointments, all without the need for immediate human intervention.
The Accidental Technologist
Khizer Khaderi, MD, MPH, Director of the Stanford Human Perception Lab, was the second speaker of the day.
He kicked off his session with an important question for attendees: How do we transform the vision industry from today’s technology consumers to tomorrow’s technology shapers? His discussion focused on the ways that the vision industry will affect the future of AI from several different standpoints, including inventory management, managed vision care, distribution, eyewear, smart glasses/augmented reality, diagnostics and more.
Dr. Khaderi explained that the three key areas for eye care to focus on are hardware, services, and application, comparing the rise — and ultimate fall — of Blackberry when iPhones and Androids took over the market. However, the eye care industry has the potential to see great success with smart glasses and augmented reality if they capitalize on this moment from all angles.
Chart the Next Five Years
From there, AI in Eye Care’s Professional Co-Editor Rehan Ahmed, MD, and Managing Partner of National Strategic Group Eugene Shatsman explored how leading practices are deploying AI across the entire patient journey: from discovery and engagement to scheduling, documentation, diagnostics and follow-up.
One of the primary goals of the discussion was to help attendees get a better idea of the ways that AI can change the way they practice every day. The pair shared real-life examples of the ways that AI can just about do it all: reduce burnout, fill key gaps in the workforce, equip doctors and staff with better decision-making strategies and more.
In addition, Dr. Ahmed and Shatsman helped attendees get a better understanding of the latest technologies and innovations that can help them change the way they deliver care. They explained that these solutions present an opportunity to not only personalize and improve patient care, but also optimize the way eye care providers treat patients and run their practices. Attendees went home with practical, actionable steps to start implementing AI in ways that enhanced their existing processes.
Navigate the Hype from Reality
In the final session of the event, Dr. Morris moderated a panel discussion that focused on one of the biggest themes in AI: what’s reality and what’s just hype?
Dr. Morris asked panelists about the practical integration of AI, including its role in workforce and workflow transformation, as well as the ways that AI can augment human capabilities, streamline processes and potentially redefine roles within eye care practices. Some of the questions included:
What’s the biggest hurdle to AI implementation? What does the future of the workforce look like? What skills will workers need to be successful in this new workforce?
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Dr. Rehan Ahmed (left), Dr. Khizer Khaderi (center) and Eugene Shatsman (right)
The panel also delved into the exciting potential and practical considerations of AI in telehealth, examining how AI-powered tools can enhance remote diagnostics, monitoring and patient management. Panelists broke down the ins and outs of telehealth, ethics in AI and the future of empathy in the eye care space and beyond.
To close things out, Dr. Morris asked the panelists to reflect on realistic timelines for AI development and deployment, as well as what the industry should expect in the coming months and years. The group also shared insights on how eye care providers can go about implementing new technologies into their practices, including the most important metrics to be tracking throughout the process.
Read more details on The AI Revolution: Navigating the Future, click here. |
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