A new front door to care

Health systems are moving from FAQ bots to task-doing agents. These agents can ask the right intake questions, route the case to self care or a clinician, book a slot, and send clear next steps. Fabric’s partnership with Rush University System for Health shows this in the wild. Rush Connect uses an AI assistant to expand on demand access and route patients to the right service. This sits before the clinician and clears the queue. 

The stack behind the scenes is getting stronger. Ambient AI that listens during visits now drafts notes and orders, which then feed agents for follow up tasks like reminders and scheduling prompts. Ambience Healthcare raised fresh funding in July to scale this full platform. Major systems already use similar tools, and national press tracks the shift from scribes to agentic workflows inside care. 

Who is shipping this well

Rush + Fabric

Rush Connect is an always on entry point. Patients get quick answers and a route to the right care setting without waiting on hold. The team frames it as access, not cost cutting. 

Omada Health

Omada added an AI nutrition agent called OmadaSpark. It helps with food choices, logging and coaching for people managing diabetes, obesity or hypertension. It works with a human care team, not instead of it. That mix is the point. 

K Health

K Health positions its AI as a knowledge agent that navigates patients to the right information and clinician. The company reports millions of medical chats and a 24/7 model that blends AI and staff. 

OpenTable, as a pattern to copy

A clear analogue lives in restaurants. OpenTable’s AI Concierge answers the questions diners ask before they book. It sits on the listing, pulls from menus and reviews, and reduces phone calls. Health can borrow the play. Place the assistant where decisions happen. Let it answer with facts from your own systems. Then hand off to a human when nuance appears. 

Design choices that build trust

Say what it is and what it is not.

Open with a plain label. “Virtual assistant that answers questions and books care.” Add a one line note on what gets handed to a clinician. Patients relax when they know the rules.

Keep consent simple.

Show what the agent records and why. Offer a fast way to opt out and move to a human. Privacy fears drop when the exit is easy. National coverage of ambient tools makes this a live concern. Meet it head on. 

Use clinic language, not tech talk.

Avoid jargon. Use patient words. If a term is clinical, explain it in the answer. Clear copy is clinical safety.

Design a clean handover.

When the case is complex, move to a person with context. Send the transcript and key facts to the nurse or doctor. Confirm with the patient that nothing is lost.

Close the loop.

After a visit, the agent can send instructions, reminders and links to services. This is where agents shine. They turn advice into action at home. Early reports show that is the real win. 

What to do this quarter

Pick the right tasks.

Start with intake and simple follow ups. Think booking, directions, prep steps, lab questions, renewals. Leave diagnosis to clinicians.

Choose credible partners.

Shortlist vendors that can prove health system deployments and EHR links. Fabric, Ambience and Nabla show live integrations and recent scale moves. Ask for named sites and metrics. 

Place the assistant where decisions happen.

Homepage, service pages and patient portal. Avoid burying it in a help tab. OpenTable’s placement lesson applies here. Keep it in flow. 

Write the core scripts.

Three scripts cover most cases. New patient intake. Returning patient booking. Post visit instructions. Keep each to short questions and short answers. Add links to humans.

Measure what matters.

Track time to answer, handover rate to staff, appointment completion, and the share of issues resolved without a call. Sample transcripts weekly for accuracy and tone.

Closing

AI health agents will not replace clinicians. They clear the path to them. Done well, they feel like a good front desk. Short waits. Straight answers. A clean handover when it matters. That is patient experience without the buzzwords.

Photos:
https://insightlinks.storage.googleapis.com/digitalhealthwire/2023/07/K-Health-2.png
https://www.opentable.com/blog/concierge-ai-dining-assistant/
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-mayo-clinic-is-using-artificial-intelligence-in-its-covid-19-research/