Bridging the Care Divide: AI-Powered Telehealth Innovation for Equitable Healthcare Delivery

About the Session

The rapid evolution of telehealth has transformed modern healthcare delivery, with virtual visits increasing dramatically from pre-pandemic levels according to McKinsey research. Yet a significant adoption gap persists—while urban health systems report robust telehealth integration, many rural providers struggle to achieve comparable implementation. This presentation examines how AI-driven solutions are revolutionizing telehealth accessibility, efficiency, and equity across diverse populations. Drawing from my experience leading a telehealth platform that scaled from thousands to tens of thousands of daily visits during COVID-19, I'll demonstrate how strategic AI implementation delivered measurable outcomes: substantial reduction in no-show rates, significant improvement in provider documentation efficiency, and marked increase in patient satisfaction scores. Case studies will highlight how major health systems transformed their virtual care models—from Mayo Clinic's AI-powered patient preference analysis reducing scheduling friction, to Cleveland Clinic's intelligent triage bots that decreased inappropriate care pathway selection. The presentation will showcase how design thinking methodologies and field-embedded product development resulted in intuitive applications that improved rural adoption rates among elderly populations. Our UK government project created an iPad application that reduced assessment paperwork time while increasing data quality during in-home evaluations. Beyond technology, we'll explore the critical intersection of digital equity, policy frameworks like NCPDP standards, and community engagement strategies that boosted telehealth utilization among underserved populations. I'll present a blueprint for developing VR/AI environments that simulate in-person visits, which demonstrated notable improvement in treatment adherence among mobility-challenged patients. This session provides healthcare leaders with actionable insights for leveraging AI as both an operational accelerator and an equity enabler in creating a future-ready, patient-centered digital ecosystem.

Speaker

Hemant Pawar

Program Director, ZealTech Inc