Turning Barriers into Bridges: How AI is Scaling Access to Care 

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the future of healthcare by streamlining diagnostics, improving operational efficiency, reducing provider burnout, and elevating patient experiences.  

But for people in rural or underserved communities, where access to care is often limited, AI isn’t just improving healthcare—it’s making it possible. 

To explore this transformation, VSP Vision’s Global Innovation Center partnered with Techonomy in New York City for a panel titled “AI for Access: Expanding Care & Benefits Through Innovation.”  

The event featured thought leaders from Meta, Thriveworks, Operation Smile, and Open Source Pharma Foundation, and celebrated 10 innovators building the foundation for ethical, accessible, AI-powered healthcare delivery. 

Ruth Yomtoubian, VP of Global Innovation at VSP Vision, moderated the discussion, which highlighted how AI is helping to close critical healthcare gaps.  

Here are three key takeaways: 

#1. AI is breaking down geographic, language, and resource barriers.  

For healthcare to be truly accessible, patients need better ways to connect with clinicians, no matter where they are or what language they speak. That’s where AI is making a significant impact. 

At Thriveworks, a mental health provider with over 300 locations, telehealth services, and 2,000 clinicians, AI is powering session transcription, clinician matching, and live translation. 

“We’re really leaning into the mental health care shortage that we have across the U.S.,” said Kabir Daya, Chief Digital Officer at Thriveworks. “Translation services is one of the places where we have implemented some of this technology, and it’s worked well. Mental health is inherently very emotional. If you want to talk to someone, you want to share all that’s going on in your head before you get matched or before you speak to someone else. This is one of the areas where I’m probably most bullish.”  

#2. Efficiency gains are key for improving healthcare access.  

In underserved communities, limited staffing and tight budgets are major barriers to care. That’s why efficiency gains from AI are more than just helpful—they’re transformative. 

At Operation Smile, a global nonprofit providing surgery for children with cleft conditions, AI is used to support both medical and non-medical staff. They train AI models on thousands of before-and-after surgery images, which empowers local staff to perform tasks once reserved for specialists. 

“This means employees who had never been to medical school could mark a patient before surgery the same way a plastic surgeon would with 87 percent accuracy,” said Dr. Gaurav Deshpande, AVP of Medical Oversight and Safety, Operation Smile.   

“With the click of a picture on a smartphone before the operation, the model tells the surgeon whether the patient might need more than one operation. And after the operation, the model rates the operation results as good or bad. If a surgeon consistently gets bad results, we start thinking about remediation. And if someone’s getting consistently great results, then we can use them as an educator to train the workforce in their local environment.” 

#3. Accessibility innovations are enhancing patients’ daily lives. 

A crucial aspect of enhancing access to healthcare is addressing the needs of individuals with accessibility challenges.  

Meta is making significant strides with its AI-enabled glasses, which are revolutionizing accessibility for individuals who are blind or have low vision. Through a partnership with Be My Eyes, the glasses provide hands-free assistance for daily tasks, such as reading labels and navigating environments.  

“Imagine if you’re blind or have low vision and you’re needing help doing something, and you call a service like Be My Eyes, but one hand is now taken because you’re holding your phone,” said Adam Berger. Sr. Director, Product Marketing at Meta. “That’s where our glasses come in. We’re trying to get our users back to these natural moments of being able to interact. You now have all your extremities, and it’s a magical experience.”  

Users can also record hands-free video with the glasses, which can support ALS and MS patients, as well as use live translation services from English to Spanish, Italian, and French. “You can imagine how this could potentially play in medical environments,” said Berger. “I’ve been in hospitals with family and friends in other countries where they needed to wait for a nurse or a doctor who speaks the same language as them. So, you can imagine doctors and nurses wearing them.”  

A Vision of the Future 

When asked about the advancements they hope to see in the coming years, panelists pointed to innovations such as AI-powered drug discovery platforms, deeper integration between mental and physical healthcare systems, the identification of new biomarkers through retinal imaging, and enhanced “super memory” capabilities for storing and recalling medical information. 

These ideas reflect a shared vision: that AI has the potential not only to scale healthcare access but also to make it more personalized, connected, and effective. 

For more vision innovation news and updates, check out the Global Innovation Center's LinkedIn page.