[Online] Dan Zeltzer, The Eitan Berglas School of Economics, Tel Aviv University

Abstract:

This presentation will discuss three papers that investigate the influence of telemedicine and artificial intelligence (AI) on primary care use, cost, and quality. The first paper employs a difference-in-differences framework to evaluate the impact of increased access to telemedicine following the COVID-19 lockdown. Results indicate a modest increase in primary care visits, reduced expenditures, and no evidence of compromised care quality. The second paper assesses the effects of adopting digital home-examination devices in telehealth visits on healthcare utilization. Findings reveal a moderate increase in primary care utilization rate, increased antibiotic usage, and reduced use of urgent care facilities, with no net cost increase. The third paper evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of AI-based models deployed in virtual primary care settings, by evaluating provider-to-AI diagnostic agreements and using blind adjudication for a subset of cases. Together, the studies offer preliminary insights into the evolving and potential roles of telemedicine and AI in healthcare delivery.