There is plenty of uncertainty around the implementation of artificial intelligence in society. An understandable reaction to such a transformative tool.
That being said, two aspects of AI are incredibly clear:
- It is not going away;
- Some aspects of it are life-saving; This week, Atlantic Health announced it has partnered with Artera to successfully deploy Artera’s AI Agents for colonoscopy patient outreach.
This initiative marks Atlantic Health’s first use of an AI Agent for outbound communication to patients, designed to deliver an enhanced consumer experience and help patients better prepare for timely preventative care.
“We have, within our power, the ability to protect many patients from colorectal cancer, but that starts with screenings, specifically with a colonoscopy,” Dr. Ravish Parekh, a gastroenterologist with Atlantic Health, said.
“By delivering personalized, easy-to-understand guidance, we hope to see better patient adherence and more effective exams. This initiative highlights Atlantic Health’s dedication to patient-centered care through innovation.”
The deployment of Artera’s AI Agents has yielded immediate, measurable improvements.
Within the first 30 days after launch:
- 43% of patients contacted by AI Agent successfully answered the phone calls and confirmed their identities;
- 39% of patients confirmed that they will attend their upcoming colonoscopy appointments;
- 7% of patients asked the AI Agent questions about the procedure.
The need certainly is there.
Colorectal cancer is expected to claim the lives of more than 55,000 Americans in 2026. And despite the fact that early-stage detection carries a survival rate of over 90 percent, nearly one-third of eligible adults remain unscreened – often due to the complexities of the multi-step preparation process.
The initiative aligns with how Atlantic Health CEO Saad Ehtisham (profiled here) feels AI should be used.
“I like technology, but I want to bring in technology that solves my problems,” he told BINJE.
Here’s how Atlantic Health is using AI to do just that.
Preparing for a colonoscopy involves complex, multi-day steps that can confuse patients, often leading to high cancellation and no-show rates. Atlantic Health recognized the necessity to simplify this process, aiming to ensure higher procedure completion percentages and better overall health outcomes, in addition to consistent, standardized GI outreach, communication and pre-appointment instructions across the entire organization.
By utilizing Artera’s AI Agents, the health system was able to move beyond manual, inconsistent reminders and instructions to a standardized, AI-driven, digital-first experience.
Using Artera’s AI Agents, Atlantic Health places automated calls to patients one week before their scheduled procedure to confirm the appointment, encourage the review of preparation materials, and answer patient inquiries.
The Agent is rigorously trained using a proprietary Atlantic Health knowledge base, allowing it to answer more than 80 Atlantic Health-approved clinical and operational frequently asked questions – without relying on external internet data sources. Furthermore, it honors individual patient preferences by speaking in multiple languages, including Spanish, and intelligently adjusts its conversational tone within clinical-guardrails to deliver a highly personalized experience.
This automated efficiency has drastically reduced the manual call volume for gastrointestinal procedure schedulers. By independently managing these critical touchpoints, the AI Agent has reduced the amount of time spent on these calls by 38 percent and empowered clinical and operational teams to refocus their efforts on high-level patient care while maximizing schedule utilization and driving higher completion rates for essential cancer screenings.
Orla Seidel, Atlantic Health’s director of digital marketing, described the process.
“Colonoscopy prep is uniquely complex – every patient’s journey is different, and there are so many steps to complete before the procedure,” she said. “After reviewing our internal processes and patient feedback, it was clear there was a real opportunity to improve the experience.
“We are always striving to expand convenient access to the highest quality care. This isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about making sure our patients get to the finish line of this potentially life-saving procedure.”
Artera President Tom McIntyre said he is thrilled by the partnership.
“As a pioneer adopter of agentic AI in healthcare and an Artera partner for more than six years, Atlantic Health recognizes that a modern patient journey requires modern, AI-driven solutions to solve decades-old challenges,” he said. “This is a prime example of agentic AI in practice: satisfied patients, better efficiency, and closed care gaps. By automating the complexities of the colonoscopy journey, we are helping clinicians return to the work they love while no patient falls through the cracks.”
