Assort Health Launches AI Agent to Streamline Medical Referrals

Assort Health, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) platform in healthcare, has launched a specialized AI agent designed to streamline medical referrals. The tool, aptly named Referrals, is aimed at helping healthcare providers manage inbound referrals more efficiently by automating key tasks such as eligibility verification and provider matching.

The AI agent processes referrals from various sources, including electronic health records (EHRs), faxes, PDFs, and phone calls. It then verifies patient eligibility and matches them to the most appropriate provider, significantly reducing administrative burden and improving patient care.

• Key Capabilities:
  • Inbound Referral Processing: Handles referrals from multiple formats.
  • Eligibility Verification: Ensures patients meet criteria for services.
  • Provider Matching: Identifies the best-suited providers based on specialty and availability.
  • Proactive Patient Outreach: Engages patients via voice, text, or email to book appointments directly in the EHR.

According to Jon Wang, Assort Health's Founder and Co-CEO, Referrals outperforms traditional methods by identifying a better-fit provider in 50% of referrals. "This saves providers from seeing the wrong patients and gets patients seen faster by the right one," Wang said. The tool also boasts a 79% referral-to-appointment conversion rate, with 87% of all referrals processed end-to-end automatically.

Under the Hood

The Referrals agent is powered by Synapse, Assort Health's proprietary AI model. Synapse leverages over 225 million specialty-specific patient interactions and 70,000 care protocols to deliver highly personalized and accurate recommendations.

• Synapse Model:
  • Data Sources: Over 225 million patient interactions.
  • Care Protocols: More than 70,000 decision pathways.
  • Personalization: Tailored to individual patient needs and provider preferences.

Jeffery Liu, Assort Health's Co-Founder and CEO, emphasized the platform's unique personalization capabilities. "Other solutions don't have the level of personalization to really target patients the way that we do," he said. This differentiation is crucial in a healthcare landscape where personalized care is becoming increasingly important.

The agent also supports continuous patient conversations, enabling seamless communication throughout the referral process. This feature helps maintain patient engagement and ensures timely follow-up, which is critical for improving patient outcomes.

Key Takeaways

• Efficiency Gains: The AI agent automates key tasks, reducing administrative workload and speeding up the referral process.
• Improved Patient Care: Better provider matching leads to faster and more appropriate care for patients.
• High Conversion Rates: A 79% referral-to-appointment conversion rate and 87% automation of referrals end-to-end.
• Personalization: Synapse's extensive data and protocols ensure highly personalized recommendations.

One of the practices already benefiting from Referrals is the Center for Sports Medicine & Orthopaedics in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Jensine Joseph, Call Center Manager at the center, reported that the team was previously overwhelmed by the volume of incoming referrals. With Assort Health's AI agent, initial outreach now takes just a few minutes, and follow-ups are more consistent.

"Today, Assort automatically processes referrals, verifies key information, and proactively reaches out to patients," Joseph said. This transformation has significantly improved patient satisfaction and operational efficiency at the center.

As healthcare providers continue to navigate the challenges of affordability and patient care, tools like Referrals offer a promising solution. By leveraging AI to optimize referral management, Assort Health is helping organizations create a more unified and personalized patient journey, ultimately leading to better outcomes for both patients and providers.