Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham has treated thousands of patients via 24/7 virtual care since launching the program in September.
Here are five things to know from a May 9 Boston Globe article:
1. More than 14,500 patients have set up appointments for the AI-powered virtual care primary service, which expanded in February.
2. The program, originally called Care Connect, has rebranded as 24/7 Virtual Care. “It was simply to describe the service better,” Rajesh Patel, MD, vice president of digital patient experience, told the news outlet. “We’re happy with the feedback we’re getting from patients.”
3. The initiative is a partnership with startup K Health, which provides an AI chatbot to triage patients.
4. Other health systems to offer the service include Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai, Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health, Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare and Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic.
5. Several Mass General Brigham physicians told the Globe that better pay and working conditions are more optimal solutions than AI to address the primary care shortage.
