Zara Medical is a hybrid in-person/telemedicine practice offering primary and preventive care in 26 states. It took only a few years for the provider organization to expand its telehealth care into 26 states.
THE CHALLENGE
It grew fast, and so did call volume. The front desk was swamped, voicemail boxes were full, response times grew. Even with three full-time front-desk staff members, the organization could not answer about 60% of incoming calls.
Administrative staff became bogged down in triage and playing phone tag. They got tied up in routine tasks like scheduling and follow-ups. And the whole time, they had to manually enter data and document everything. And humans make mistakes.
“I wanted to create a practice that I would want to go to, one that was entirely patient-centered,” said Dr. Jessica Edwards, founder and CEO of Zara Medical. “We built that and earned a reputation for delivering top-quality, personal care. But unanswered calls mean patients worry and get frustrated.
“Business-wise we could lose revenue and employees,” she continued. “The patient experience was suffering, our admins were stressed, and we were all putting too much time and effort into work that could have been automated.”
PROPOSAL
Just before things came to a boil, Zara deployed an AI-powered workflow automation platform.
“It’s designed for healthcare, which is important: We wanted to solve existing pain points, not create new ones,” Edwards explained. “It protects sensitive data and integrates seamlessly with our electronic health record and healthcare workflows. There were no new tools to come up to speed on – it just plugged directly into the way we already work.
“The platform enabled us to auto-label all incoming documents so data was automatically pulled into patient records in our EHR,” she continued. “This meant our teams got new information in real time. There was no waiting for staff to input details and the EHRs were always current.”
Staff could search through documents to find what they needed. And with a click they could create a chart and load a new patient into the system. This dramatically increased capabilities and cost efficiency, she added.
“So, when the vendor said they were introducing an AI-powered voice agent, I signed up for a demo,” she recalled. “We were looking for a single point of contact for all incoming calls. We wanted a 24/7 virtual receptionist that would pick up every time, process calls intelligently, and eliminate voicemails and call-backs.
“The system needed to directly handle appointment scheduling and registration, too,” she continued. “It had to triage calls by urgency and transcribe, summarize and get data into systems and EHRs for use by our staff in real time. It was a tall order, but the system was delivered.”
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
The workflow automation platform is from health IT vendor Medsender. The company also created the artificial intelligence voice agent, MAIRA, which plugs into the platform. It uses AI to process data from unstructured sources like phone, fax and email. MAIRA understands patient needs, is HIPAA-compliant, and works with EHRs and existing workflows, Edwards noted.
“Key for us is that it fits the way our practice operates: There are no additional inboxes to monitor or tools to learn,” she said. “We have full visibility into calls through a central voice inbox, so our team can follow up faster and with the right context.
“With dozens of EHR integrations already built, data can be synced so it’s always current, available and error-free,” she added. “MAIRA operates 24/7, scheduling and rescheduling appointments, confirming medical details, handling billing, insurance, prescriptions and more.”
The front office is able to manage everything through a single dashboard. No additional hardware or software downloads were needed. Zara also did not have to buy and manage point systems, so technology sprawl and IT complexity are eliminated, Edwards said.
“Plus, Medsender recently introduced MAIRA 2.0, and the conversation and quality of voice are really as human as it gets,” she said.
RESULTS
Foremost, 100% of inbound calls now are answered. Seventy percent require no human intervention and data is completely free of human error, Edwards reported.
“We’re seeing ongoing savings of more than two hours per day through AI call automation and fax/document handling,” she said. “And because the system triages by patient urgency – with only flagged calls requiring follow up – staff no longer are playing phone tag.
“AI analytics provide an easy way to track calls, patient satisfaction, problem resolution and compliance,” she continued. “We even use AI to find specialists for patients. Through custom configurations, we can locate caregivers within a zip code who are highly rated and accept particular insurance. It’s an end-to-end referral process that ensures patients are passed off in the most efficient way possible.”
Overall, staff no longer is tied up on calls and patients are kept out of phone trees – no one is placed on hold.
“We’re able to work even more efficiently and deliver a smooth, reliable experience, freeing up staff to improve the quality and delivery of patient care,” Edwards said. “Our front office staff can now completely handle demand without stress. We estimate these capabilities cost us 75% less than it would be to hire additional staff or outsource to a suitable answering service.”
ADVICE FOR OTHERS
Don’t buy an off-the-shelf, general business AI voice agent, Edwards advised.
“A medical practice needs something that’s made for healthcare – you don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” she said. “You want to get this right the first time and prevent ongoing disruption. So, only consider established vendors with proven technology: They’re in it for the long run and will be around to help.
“You want natural voicing and fluid conversations without latency,” she added. “Avoid point systems because they make IT management messier and difficult to control. Be sure the virtual receptionist you choose integrates easily and plays well with your other systems to maximize ROI.”
And be sure it’s compatible with major medical record vendors, she said.
“You want a system that works with dozens of EHR vendors so you’ll be able to get specific data on test results, care and medications,” she concluded.
Follow Bill’s HIT coverage on LinkedIn: Bill Siwicki
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Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
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