Teledermatology and AI's Impact on Patient Access and Diagnostics: Hadar Avihai Lev-Tov, MD

Hadar Avihai Lev-Tov, MD, associate professor of clinical dermatology and cutaneous surgery at the University of Miami Health System, discussed how teledermatology and artificial intelligence (AI) are poised to alter health care by improving efficiency, access, and diagnostics.

He emphasized that teledermatology, although not fully replacing in-person exams, is ideal for follow-up appointments, leading to shorter, more focused visits that benefit both patients and clinicians. This increased efficiency also allows dermatologists to see more patients, thereby improving overall access to specialized care.

This transcript was lightly edited; captions were auto-generated.

Transcript

How do you believe advancements in teledermatology and AI-powered diagnostic tools can impact the delivery of care and cost-efficiency within a managed care framework? What are the potential benefits and drawbacks?

The development in technology is really breathtaking and dermatology is really ripe for all these advancements, both in teledermatology and in AI. In teledermatology, a lot of the work that we do can be done remotely. We still need a good physical exam in person, that's my bias, but a lot of the simple follow-ups can be done over telemedicine, and can increase efficiency.

At least I find in my hands and I remember during the pandemic, telemedicine visits are short and they're to the point, and everybody's happy, both the patient, the clinician, and importantly, we improve access. Now, instead of being able to see X amount of patients, I can see a few more and then improve access. I think telemedicine is a great way, but it has to be used in the right cases.

As for AI, I think it's going to help a lot with diagnostics. I think it's really important to just understand the limitations of AI as well, but I think in dermatopathology, in some simple diagnosis, to at least guide the patients so they can at least not have so much anxiety as they wait for the appointment. Again, adding value in the sense of not having so many patients trying to get into so few dermatologists by introducing AI tools that can educate the patients on 1 hand and then also improve diagnostics.