Introduction
Healthcare organizations across the United States face mounting pressure from administrative complexity, fragmented digital systems, and increasingly demanding patient expectations. At Becker’s 10th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Conference, industry leaders from Notable and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston presented compelling evidence that agentic artificial intelligence represents a transformative solution to these persistent challenges.
The session explored how enterprise-wide AI deployment is fundamentally reshaping patient experiences while simultaneously alleviating the burden on healthcare staff drowning in repetitive administrative work.
The Healthcare Administration Crisis: Why Current Systems Are Failing
The Patient Perspective
Tushar Garg, Lead Product Manager at Notable, illustrated the systemic dysfunction through “Amy,” a fictional cancer patient whose journey through the healthcare system highlights critical pain points. Amy’s experience includes navigating faxed referrals, enduring lengthy work queues, facing prior authorization delays, and managing a fragmented follow-up process that feels more like an obstacle course than coordinated care.
The statistics are staggering: patients spend approximately 20 to 30 hours monthly simply navigating healthcare logistics—time that could be devoted to recovery, family, or quality of life. This administrative burden doesn’t just frustrate patients; it creates barriers to accessing timely, necessary care.
The Staff Challenge
Healthcare workers face equally daunting challenges. Administrative teams are overwhelmed by repetitive manual tasks that consume valuable time and energy. Traditional solutions—hiring more staff—have proven inadequate.
“No matter how many people we throw at the problem, the workload keeps piling up,” Garg explained. “But finally, with AI, this equation is starting to change.”
Understanding Agentic AI: Beyond Traditional Automation
What Makes Agentic AI Different
Traditional AI tools typically handle isolated, single-function tasks. Agentic AI represents a paradigm shift: these intelligent systems can manage entire workflows from start to finish with minimal human supervision. Notable’s Platform leverages this advanced technology to execute complete administrative processes seamlessly integrated with existing electronic health records (EHR).
The Flow Builder Advantage
Notable’s Flow Builder tool empowers healthcare organizations to create custom, low-code workflows tailored specifically for healthcare environments. This flexibility allows institutions to address their unique operational challenges without extensive programming expertise.
“If you can codify and document a standard workflow for someone to follow, then you can train AI agents to do that with limited supervision,” Garg noted.
Real-World Success: MUSC Health’s AI Implementation
Strategic Starting Point: Intake and Registration
Dr. Kathryn King, Chief Medical Information Officer at MUSC Health, described their strategic approach to AI adoption. The team identified intake and registration processes—including insurance verification and eligibility checks—as an ideal initial use case offering high impact with minimal workflow disruption.
Measurable Impact on Healthcare Access
The results exceeded expectations across multiple dimensions. MUSC Health achieved increased patient access, improved staff efficiency, and successfully addressed healthcare equity barriers.
“We were able to see increased patient access, increased efficiency for our staff and actually overcame some of the main barriers to healthcare equity,” Dr. King explained. “We got more patients in the door.”
The Mammogram Initiative: A Case Study
One particularly compelling example demonstrates AI’s potential for preventive care outreach. MUSC Health identified 5,000 women overdue for mammogram screenings. Through AI-enabled outreach within just weeks, 1,000 women scheduled appointments. Critically, 122 of those screenings revealed abnormal results requiring follow-up care—potentially life-saving interventions that might otherwise have been delayed or missed entirely.
Overcoming Resistance: The Path to Staff Acceptance
Initial Skepticism
Like many technology implementations, MUSC Health’s AI initiative faced initial resistance. Front desk personnel and scheduling teams expressed concerns about workflow changes and job security.
Winning Hearts and Minds Through Results
Skepticism transformed into enthusiasm once staff experienced tangible benefits. The AI tools saved three to five minutes per patient interaction—time that compounds significantly across hundreds of daily interactions. Importantly, the technology didn’t replace staff but instead liberated them from mundane tasks to focus on complex issues requiring human judgment and empathy.
“When you make their job easier, when they get to focus on the more complicated issues that a human really needs to focus on, the joy in their job returns,” Dr. King observed.
Ensuring Quality: Built-In Performance Monitoring
Real-Time Evaluation Tools
Notable’s Platform includes comprehensive quality assurance mechanisms. Supervisors access call transcripts, review AI-generated responses, and monitor performance metrics including call duration and patient satisfaction scores.
Continuous Improvement Through Feedback
The system employs AI to analyze patient feedback patterns and recommend workflow improvements, creating a virtuous cycle of enhancement.
“It’s not just about the engagement with the patient,” Garg emphasized. “It’s about gaining enterprise-level confidence that we can do this at scale.”
Looking Forward: Expanding AI Applications
MUSC Health plans to broaden AI deployment into contact center transformation, well-child check outreach, and additional preventive care initiatives. These expansions promise to multiply the benefits already achieved while establishing a foundation for future innovation.
Conclusion
The collaboration between Notable and MUSC Health demonstrates that agentic AI isn’t merely a technological novelty—it’s a practical solution to healthcare’s most persistent operational challenges. By automating complete workflows rather than isolated tasks, AI agents are simultaneously improving patient experiences, enhancing staff satisfaction, and advancing healthcare equity. As these technologies mature and adoption expands, they promise to fundamentally transform healthcare delivery for the better.
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