Healthcare groups in the U.S. often get a big increase in incoming calls during health emergencies. For example, Howard Brown Health in Chicago, which serves over 40,000 patients a year, saw calls jump from about 15,000 to 60,000 per month at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and other outbreaks. These big increases bring many problems:
AI phone systems have been used by healthcare providers to deal with these problems. A case study from Howard Brown Health shows an AI agent called “Alex,” built by PolyAI, that worked to answer phone questions 24/7. This case shows how AI can handle big call spikes and lower costs.
Important results included:
These results show AI automation can handle call surges well and also save money by cutting work hours and making call centers more efficient.
From a money point of view, AI phone automation gives medical offices clear benefits. Automating boring and slow tasks helps clinics and hospitals avoid hiring more staff or paying costly overtime during crises. This lowers operating costs in many ways:
Howard Brown Health showed an easy switch from RingCentral to Dialpad phone systems, proving that AI tools can fit into existing setups with little trouble.
AI tech can also join other healthcare work systems to make admin tasks easier. For Instance, the AI at Howard Brown Health works with electronic patient record tools like MyChart and plans to connect with Epic EMR, a major U.S. healthcare records system.
This integration helps automate things like:
Using AI inside healthcare workflows reduces the manual work staff must do. This saves time, cuts mistakes, helps patients stay involved, and lets staff focus on more complicated care.
A key part of healthcare AI is spotting when a caller needs urgent help. The AI at Howard Brown Health uses sentiment analysis to find signs of stress or emergency in conversations. When it detects these signs, it immediately passes the call to a human agent for direct support.
This method uses AI for everyday calls while keeping human care for serious cases, keeping patient safety and quality high.
For medical leaders and IT managers in the U.S., AI phone systems offer many benefits, especially during health emergencies:
Using AI in U.S. healthcare must follow rules like HIPAA, which protects patient privacy and data security. The European Union’s AI Act, which began in August 2024, highlights the need for clear use, human oversight, and good data when using AI in medicine. The U.S. does not have the same law yet, but IT managers should get ready for similar rules.
Healthcare groups must make sure their AI keeps patient data safe, avoids bias, and keeps human care in important moments.
Besides helping with phone calls, AI is also being used more in mental health care. Examples include detecting mental health problems early, virtual AI therapists, and tailored treatment plans. Although these uses are not about phone call handling, they show AI is becoming more accepted in healthcare.
Issues like keeping information private, avoiding bias, and keeping human understanding are important in all AI healthcare uses, including phone help.
Healthcare IT staff and practice owners should choose AI platforms that connect well with current phone and electronic health record (EHR) systems. Howard Brown Health’s smooth switch between phone providers shows why flexible AI systems matter.
In the future, AI is likely to work more with EHR systems, giving patients better self-service through voice or chat. This will further cut down on admin work and give patients more convenience and control.
For healthcare groups in the U.S. wanting to improve how they respond during crises and run operations better, AI phone automation is a solution that works at scale and saves money.
Medical administrators and IT leaders might consider AI options like the PolyAI system used at Howard Brown Health. As healthcare faces sudden challenges, smart automation tools will be important to keep service steady and accessible.
Howard Brown Health faced surging call volumes up to 60,000 calls during health crises, staffing limitations for 24/7 coverage, multilingual communication needs, and agent burnout from handling routine inquiries, all affecting timely, accurate patient responses and overall satisfaction.
The AI agent provides immediate, natural language 24/7 support, handling FAQs, appointment scheduling, prescription refills, and emergency detection while seamlessly integrating with existing systems like MyChart and Epic EMR for a personalized, efficient patient experience.
The AI agent, named Alex, leverages PolyAI’s advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities to understand and respond naturally, detect patient distress, and escalate complex cases to human agents when necessary.
The AI supports multiple languages, including Spanish and Polish, ensuring effective communication with diverse patient populations and overcoming language barriers that previously hindered timely service.
They saw a 72% reduction in Average Handle Time for routine requests, 30% call containment exceeding the 20% target, and a 4% increase in patient satisfaction, driven by improved accessibility and efficiency.
By automating routine inquiries, the AI freed staff to focus on complex cases, reducing agent stress and burnout, and improving the overall quality of patient interactions.
The AI integrates with backend systems like MyChart and Epic EMR, enabling capabilities such as appointment management, test result access, prescription refills, and future enhancements allowing insurance updates and appointment rescheduling.
The AI can detect distressed or at-risk callers using sentiment analysis and immediately escalates those calls to human agents for specialized intervention.
The AI enables the health system to handle increased call volumes efficiently, especially during public health emergencies, without additional staff, ensuring continuous, reliable patient support.
They plan to deepen Epic EMR integration, allowing patients to create, reschedule, cancel appointments, update insurance, and manage prescription refills via the AI agent for an even more seamless experience.
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