Digital Technology and AI in Health Care

The rise of telehealth, artificial intelligence, and other digital health technologies is revolutionizing health care delivery. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was almost exclusively limited to Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas and accounted for less than 1% of all Medicare services. By 2021, telehealth utilization in the Medicare program was almost 40 times higher than pre-pandemic levels. The pandemic also spurred the adoption of digital health technologies, including remote patient monitoring, which has the potential to enhance care for millions of Americans. As generative artificial intelligence advances, policymakers will have to create appropriate guardrails to ensure appropriate use of these technologies without stifling innovation. 

BPC continues to study telehealth flexibilities, as well as explore new health technologies, to produce analysis and recommendations to help policymakers as they seek to strike the right balance between access, quality, and cost for health care technologies in the long term.