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AI can help make up for missed appointments and screening.
Jeremy Orr, MD, MPH
When the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic hit the US and social distancing guidelines were implemented, it caused many patients to miss appointments for routine care exams.
All patients who had regular appointments for control of their kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, those who normally get cancer screenings, were unable to receive the care they typically receive.
“We risk if we ignore that group a next silence or victim wave from COVID, not from the disease itself but because all their care was delayed so long,” Jeremy Orr, MD, MPH, chief executive officer at Medial EarlySign, said in a recent interview with HCPLive®. “It’s sort of a ticking time bomb.”
In fact, due to missed appointments and delayed screenings, Orr said experts are expecting 10s of thousands of excess cancer deaths within the next 5 to 10 years.
“I think AI can play a really critical role in helping prioritize that back log,” he said.
When it comes to AI, companies have algorithms that can be used to analyze an entire health system’s population to see who has not been screened for cancer and who is at the highest risk. The algorithm would put those at greatest risk at the top of the queue and help get patients the care they need sooner rather than later.
To hear more from Orr, watch the video clip below.