Managing patient calls in healthcare offices is not easy. Almost 88% of healthcare appointments are still made by phone. Patients often wait on hold for a long time, sometimes as long as 35 minutes, when trying to book an appointment. This waiting can make patients frustrated. Because of this, many hang up and delay getting care.
Call centers also have problems because scheduling can be complicated. This is especially true for specialty practices with different types of appointments and doctor availability. One big problem is patients being booked with the wrong doctor. This mistake happens about 20 million times a year in the U.S. Wrong bookings cause delays in care and extra work to fix the problem. They also make patients unhappy.
Another issue is that many call center workers leave their jobs each year—about 45%. This high turnover happens because the work can be stressful and repetitive. Losing staff often makes the quality of patient communication worse.
New AI tools, like the platform made by Assort Health, try to fix these problems. This AI uses voice automation and links with electronic health records (EHRs) and scheduling software. By doing this, it can update patient information and insurance in real time, which helps make appointment scheduling more accurate.
The AI breaks down patient calls into clear steps that fit different medical fields like orthopedics, cardiology, pediatrics, behavioral health, and urgent care. It also uses special scheduling rules for each type of specialty. For example, it can handle booking appointments for siblings or multiple providers at once.
This AI has helped reduce wait times. At Peninsula Orthopaedic Associates, hold times dropped from 11 minutes to just 1 minute within a month after using the AI. This shows the AI can make it easier and faster for patients to get through on the phone.
Getting the right doctor for the patient is very important. Mistakes can delay treatment and make patients lose trust. Assort Health’s AI claims a 99% accuracy rate in scheduling by working closely with EHR systems and fitting with each specialty’s needs. The AI checks doctor availability and patient insurance instantly.
Another key measure is call resolution rate. This means how many calls are fully handled by the AI without needing human help later. The platform keeps this rate above 90%, meaning most patient issues and appointment requests get answered quickly by the AI.
These improvements lead to better patient experiences. Patients rate the AI system an average of 4.6 out of 5. They appreciate shorter wait times, accurate bookings, and the ability to call anytime.
Using AI to handle phone service reduces pressure on healthcare staff. Front desk and call center workers often face many calls, complex scheduling, and repetitive tasks. This can cause tiredness and mistakes. When AI handles routine calls and bookings, staff can focus on harder tasks and in-person help.
This also lowers staff turnover in call centers, helping keep the team steady. Fewer manual calls mean lower administrative costs. Healthcare providers, like Peninsula Orthopaedic Associates, say the AI learned their scheduling rules and helped manage appointments for 40+ doctors across six clinics. This makes it easier to grow and serve more patients.
AI also helps automate more than just calls. Healthcare offices change a lot with appointment openings, cancellations, insurance questions, and last-minute updates. AI that links with EHR and management systems can adapt quickly.
The AI uses special state machines and safety rules to follow scheduling rules for each specialty. This keeps accuracy and patient safety high. For example, the AI quickly checks if a patient’s insurance covers a certain appointment and updates records.
AI-driven automation helps in many ways:
This makes communication smoother and cuts down extra work for healthcare teams.
People leading and funding these AI systems see positive changes. Jon Wang, co-founder of Assort Health, says their AI solves common problems like long wait times and scheduling mistakes by giving 24/7 voice service. This is important in the U.S. where fast access to care can save lives.
Kemuel Carey, CEO of Peninsula Orthopaedic Associates, says AI helped their clinics work better. The AI easily handled many clinics and doctors and complex schedules. They saw big drops in wait times and better booking within one month.
Investors are also interested because the company has grown fast. Since late 2024, Assort Health’s revenue increased eight times. Investors like First Round Capital value the mix of healthcare knowledge and technology skills in the company leaders. This balance is important for using AI well in medicine.
Healthcare leaders should think about these key points when choosing AI for call management:
AI in healthcare phone service is expected to become more common. Real-time voice AI will likely become a standard tool in medical offices across the U.S. As AI gets better at understanding specialty needs and complex scheduling, doctors and staff will manage communications more easily.
Using these systems supports goals like better access to care, lower admin costs, and patient-centered service. Systems like Assort Health’s show progress toward faster, simpler, and more patient-friendly healthcare calls in the United States.
This overview shows how AI phone automation can change how clinics talk with patients. Long wait times, booking mistakes, and staffing issues challenge healthcare communication. AI offers a useful tool to improve front-office work and raise patient satisfaction. As more clinics use it, knowing the benefits and challenges of AI will help make the switch smoother and improve care.
Assort Health targets the issue of long patient hold times and scheduling inefficiencies in healthcare call centers, which lead to frustration, abandoned calls, and barriers to care. Their AI platform eliminates lengthy holds and scheduling errors, improving patient access to care.
The AI breaks down patient interactions into clear steps and uses specialty-specific agents, achieving 99% scheduling accuracy. It integrates with EHR systems to update patient data and insurance information in real-time, reducing errors and improving appointment booking.
At Peninsula Orthopaedic Associates, hold times were reduced from 11 minutes to 1 minute within 30 days of implementation, demonstrating the AI’s efficiency in reducing patient wait time significantly.
The AI platform customizes its interactions based on specialty-specific needs, integrating with clinical EHR and practice management systems to navigate varying scheduling rules and provider preferences, ensuring smooth operations across specialties.
The platform maintains over a 90% call resolution rate and has received patient satisfaction ratings averaging 4.6 out of 5, reflecting reliable service and positive patient experiences.
Long hold times discourage patients, leading to abandoned calls and delayed care. Reducing holds makes healthcare more accessible and timely, improving patient outcomes and system efficiency.
Assort Health serves a wide range of specialties including orthopedics, cardiology, pediatrics, primary care, dermatology, gastroenterology, behavioral health, and urgent care, among others.
The platform employs specialty-specific generative AI and AI-powered voice agents integrated with EHR and practice management systems, supported by customized scheduling algorithms and rigorous AI safety measures.
Since Q4 2024, Assort Health experienced an eightfold increase in revenue, driven by AI accuracy, positive patient feedback, and rapid adoption by hundreds of healthcare organizations.
By automating call management and scheduling, the AI reduces operational friction, decreases staff turnover, and allows clinicians and staff to focus more on delivering exceptional care rather than administrative tasks.
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