July 26, 2021, marked the 31st anniversary of the signing of the ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act.
The ADA prohibits discrimination of people with disabilities. It ensures they have equal opportunities for employment, commerce, and participation in government services and programs.
This comprehensive civil rights law has been updated as society, technology, and protections for disabilities have evolved.
Accessibility Matters
Providing people with disabilities with a legal platform to advocate for themselves is vital.
One in four adults in the United States lives with a disability. This includes issues with mobility, cognition, independent living, hearing, vision, or self-care.
Ensuring these individuals have the necessary tools for a fulfilling and healthy life is non-negotiable on the path to equality and inclusion.
Walking this path requires focusing the lens of accessibility on every aspect of life.
For those in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, this means holding ourselves accountable and using every available tool to improve the lives of patients. It also means ensuring every step of the patient journey is accessible to everyone.
The Technological Tool Belt
The prevailing wave of recent healthcare innovations are, of course, technological. Capabilities like clinical trial mobile apps and wearable medical devices are becoming more widespread, and millions of patients are reaping the benefits.
The Telehealth Trend
Telehealth had a breakout moment in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from seeking healthcare in person. It continues to boom in 2021, though there have been noted disparities in patient accessibility.
Many patients don’t have reliable internet access, preventing them from obtaining online medical assistance. Additionally, if sites and resources don’t have translated materials available, millions of patients with limited English proficiency are excluded.
Only the Beginning for AI
Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) is another up-and-coming breakthrough in healthcare delivery. Through voice or text options, AI can reduce the administrative burden on clinicians and financial pressure on healthcare enterprises. It also can improve the patient experience and interactions with medical providers.
This AI likely represents the next major trend in the healthcare industry, but it is still in the early stages of development. Now is a key moment to ensure that conversational AI is not only offered in English but also in a variety of languages to avoid excluding any patients.
Medical AI services also require high-quality algorithms, which require large sets of data. This has led to concerns about patient privacy rights and raised discussions about how to create solutions that guarantee patient privacy while building a robust, conversational AI.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated in their recently published guidance, Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health, that the solution is designing AI systems with compassion in mind. They must be carefully coordinated to reflect the diversity of socio-economic and healthcare settings, with training in digital skills, community engagement, and human rights law.
The G3 Imperative
These world-changing medical technologies have the potential to improve patient health and experience on a mass scale, but only if they are designed with the full global spectrum of patients in mind.
Making a concerted effort to be as inclusive as possible will be well worth it. Diverse and accessible clinical trials lead to successful medications and a wider pool of patients reached, so why wouldn’t we try?
G3 Life Sciences offers a range of efficient digital automation and technological services to help bridge the gap in patient accessibility and experience. This includes end-to-end chatbot solutions and automated data annotation in any language.
To find out all the ways we can bring accessibility services to you and your initiative, contact us today.