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AI Chatbot. Health systems are increasingly implementing AI tools and bots in patient facing situations. The latest is Hackensack Meridian Health, which announced that it will be teaming up with K Health to launch a 24 x 7 virtual primary care service to provide essential clinical care to its expansive patient population.
The healthcare organization will enable the service using an app through which intake and data entry will be done before patients are assigned to and seen by a physician. By automating the intake process through the app, clinicians can spend more of their time on patient care. Robert Garrett, CEO at Hackensack Meridian Health explains that the ‘partnership with K Health couldn’t be coming at a better time, as the clear shift in primary care is uncovering the need for hybrid models that seamlessly connect virtual and in-person care across the care continuum.
..We know patients want virtual care, but understanding how to deliver that in the context of a larger health system is where HMH 24/7 stands us apart.
’ This comes at a time when primary care providers nationwide are overburdened with their patient panels and patients are equally frustrated with significant wait times to get primary care appointments. Retail pharmacy chain CVS, which has made inroads into the primary care market in recent years with its MinuteClinic acquisition, stated that one of the key reasons for its own transition into the space was to help address the lack of healthcare access and primary care in communities. The company specifically cited that long wait times for primary care appointments, which currently averages approximately 20.
6 days nationwide, is among the paramount justifications for the business. New Galaxy S25 Ultra Exclusive Teases Samsung’s Ambitious Plans UFC 308 Loses One Of Its Best Main Card Fights ‘FROM’ Season 3, Episode 1 Review: A Terrifying Return To The Creepiest Show On TV But this sector is not easy to succeed in. VillageMD, which is Walgreens’ congruent primary care service, reportedly has gone through a tumultuous journey.
Last month, there was speculation that the parent company was contemplating a sell-off of the primary care division. Companies are indeed learning that care delivery, and specifically primary care delivery, is not easy. This is where artificial intelligence tools and bots are being considered as potentially helpful.
A prominent article in the Canadian Journal of Health Technologies discusses the use of bots in healthcare settings and how they can potentially be a significant boon for care delivery. The article discusses how bots can potentially “provide patients with 24/7 access to health information, such as symptom assessment, supportive information, medication reminders, or appointment scheduling, allowing access to information when health care providers are unavailable.” If the technology is scalable, then organizations such as Hackensack Meridian have a huge incentive to implement these tools as they can potentially access larger patient populations which may not have been otherwise easy to reach.
However, despite the significant potential impact, the technology is still in its early days. Especially given that these use-cases are meant to be eventually patient facing, developers and innovators have a high bar and threshold to ensure information fidelity, institute strict measures to control care delivery, and maintain an ability to re-iterate quickly as needed— all which will ultimately assure patient privacy and safety at all costs..
