In recent years, hospitals, clinics, and health systems across the United States have started using AI platforms to help with patient communication, scheduling appointments, and follow-up care. This became even more common during the COVID-19 pandemic because in-person visits were limited and communicating with patients became harder.
One clear example is the TeleVox Patient Engagement Platform. It serves more than 7,000 healthcare clients and handles over 1 billion patient messages every year in the U.S. This shows a strong trust in AI tools to keep providers connected with patients. TeleVox uses many communication methods—phone calls, texts, emails, postcards, and interactive voice response (IVR)—to reach patients the way they like. This makes patients more likely to respond and take action on time.
One clear money-saving benefit from using AI patient engagement tools is fewer missed appointments. When patients miss appointments, doctors’ schedules have empty spots. This causes lost income and wastes staff time. AI helps by sending reminders and letting patients manage their own scheduling. For example, AdvantageCare Physicians reported fewer no-shows and better patient follow-through after using TeleVox’s system. The system sends customized messages at the right time without needing extra staff.
Calling patients, sending reminders, and updating schedules by hand take a lot of staff time and raise costs. AI systems do these tasks automatically. This lets healthcare workers spend time on medical work and other important jobs. It also reduces mistakes in communication and scheduling, making daily work smoother.
Anthony Brown, Director of Application Services at Kettering Health Network, said their automated system is easy to adjust and offers good service. This allowed the hospital to use more workflows without losing good communication with patients. Automation cuts costs by lowering the need to hire extra administrative workers.
When patients are more involved in their care, they keep appointments, follow treatments, and cancel less. This helps healthcare groups make more money. AI tools support patient participation with custom messages and easy self-service. This often leads to happier patients who stay with the practice longer, which is important for financial health.
A healthcare manager interviewed for a research study said that using AI communication tools saved money and improved finances by cutting expensive manual calls and mailings.
The COVID-19 pandemic showed problems in traditional ways of talking to patients. It sped up the use of AI-based systems to communicate. Hospitals and clinics had limits on visitors and in-person support, but patients needed quick updates.
Cambridge Health Alliance gave an example. Claudia Andrade, their Senior Applications Analyst, said AI alerts helped families know when patients were ready for pick-up during COVID-19. This stopped delays and confusion because family members came at the right time without breaking safety rules. Automating this made work easier and improved patients’ experience. It also stopped extra work that manual calls would have caused.
These improvements lowered costs from pandemic disruptions and let clinical teams focus on patient care instead of follow-up calls.
AI patient engagement solutions can automatically handle routine tasks. This is called workflow automation. It means AI does repeated jobs like sending appointment reminders, following up, confirming schedules, and collecting patient data without much human help.
One special AI feature is the SMART Agent. It acts like a self-service helper for patients. Unlike old phone systems that only have confusing menus, SMART Agent uses language understanding to help patients schedule appointments, answer questions, and give health updates on their own. This makes communication simpler and more personal.
SMART Agent lowers the need for front-office staff to do routine messaging. This lets staff spend time on tasks that need human care or medical knowledge. Automating these jobs saves money and makes operations smoother.
Workflow automation can connect with existing healthcare software like Epic and other EHR systems. This helps save patient information sent through texts or other methods in real time. For example, HouseCalls Pro users like ACPNY set up over twenty automated workflows based on Epic. These workflows collect patient-reported data and send reminders efficiently. This connection reduces repeated work, improves data accuracy, and keeps patient care consistent.
AI platforms send messages in many ways—text, phone, email, and more—matching what patients prefer. This method works well to reach about 292 million U.S. patients. Most patients (about 90%) like automated messages, and nearly 70% want regular care reminders. This shows that healthcare providers using AI can meet patient needs and lower staff workloads.
Big healthcare systems need tools that can grow and change fast. AI patient engagement platforms can handle billions of messages every year without needing more staff. This was very important during times like the COVID-19 pandemic and helps with everyday healthcare work.
The money saved by AI patient engagement goes beyond just cutting staff or direct expenses. It also affects budgets, staffing plans, and patient care quality.
For administrators and IT managers in U.S. healthcare, AI patient engagement tools are a smart choice. Administrators who want to save money and raise income can rely on AI to reduce no-shows and keep patients coming back. IT managers benefit because these systems work with current EHRs and provide flexible automation without big changes.
Using AI communication tools is especially helpful for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Community Health Centers (CHCs), doctor offices, and hospitals that work across many locations. The money saved from automating communication can be used for patient care or technology improvements.
The healthcare field needs solutions that control costs and still provide good care. AI patient engagement tools help meet those needs while supporting staff and keeping patients satisfied.
AI-based patient engagement platforms play an important role in healthcare today. They help save money and make operations run better while keeping patient communication effective. For U.S. healthcare administrators and IT managers working to use resources wisely during and after COVID-19, these tools offer a practical way to manage costs and improve patient care.
SMART Agent is a new generation AI-enabled patient-provider communication tool that automates patient engagement processes, delivering a self-service experience while enhancing patient outreach and care continuity.
AI-enabled workflows automate patient communication and outreach, reducing manual workload, streamlining operations, and enabling healthcare staff to focus on critical tasks while increasing efficiency.
They offer meaningful, omnichannel interactions—from scheduling to post-visit—that engage patients actively in their care, reduce no-shows, and improve overall health outcomes.
Hospitals, health systems, physician practices, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and Community Health Centers (CHCs) utilize these solutions for automated, omnichannel patient outreach and care management.
By transforming patient outreach to be more effective without adding staff workload, AI agents help healthcare entities generate revenue through improved appointment adherence and better patient engagement.
TeleVox manages over 1 billion patient communications annually and serves more than 7,000 health systems and practices, impacting approximately 292 million healthcare patients in the U.S.
AI agents offer more personalized, omnichannel, and self-service experiences over phone IVR’s often limited and linear navigation, improving patient satisfaction and operational efficiency.
They facilitate logistics such as coordinating patient rides and visitor notifications remotely, helping to enforce restrictions and improve communication despite limited hospital entry.
Users report reduced no-shows, improved patient turnover, and cost savings in communication outreach efforts, contributing positively to healthcare organizations’ financial health.
Strong customer service and responsive account management are vital, ensuring smooth implementation, customization, and issue resolution, thereby maximizing technology benefits and user satisfaction.
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