FQHCs Working With Voice AI Assistant Company Suki

One commonly expressed concern about artificial intelligence in healthcare is that it could worsen disparities by being deployed only in large academic medical centers and not in community health centers that treat underserved populations. One voice AI company, Suki, is addressing that issue by partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Last year, Redwood City, Calif.-based Suki announced the integration of its AI-powered voice assistant with Oracle Cerner and Epic EHR software. The company said its Suki Assistant helps clinicians complete time-consuming administrative tasks by voice and announced the ability to generate clinical notes from ambiently listening to a patient-clinician conversation.

By partnering with organizations that provide care in shortage areas and underserved communities, Suki said its voice AI Assistant is helping clinicians improve efficiency by cutting back administrative work hours and being more present during visits so that everyone is getting the care they deserve. 

The company is working with Utah Navajo Health System (UNHS), CenterPlace Health, Access Health Louisiana, and PrimeCare Health, to assist providers in addressing the significant volume of patients seeking quality care in underserved areas. 

“We have always prided ourselves in being early adopters of technology that will improve our organization, and Suki allows us to optimize our workflows, making what we do more effective,” said Michael Jensen, CEO at UNHS, in a statement. “We felt Suki was the most robust in terms of quality charting, the amount of time it took to train clinicians to use the product, and it’s easy to use. For our clinicians, the main differentiator of Suki was how well it integrated with our EHR system, Athena.” 

“It’s a lot for our clinicians to document and solve the intricate issues patients discuss, and Suki provides the support they need to ensure all information is recorded. Our adult health and psychiatry providers have seen the most change using Suki – it allows them to engage directly with their patients during the visit while capturing the entire appointment with few edits needed afterward,” said Lisa Gonzalez-Abello, M.D., chief medical officer at CenterPlace Health, in Sarasota, Fla. “Our mission is to make a difference in patients’ lives, and any tool that can give providers peace of mind is crucial to improving health outcomes.” 

Last year, James Craven, M.D., a vascular surgeon who is president of Franciscan Health Physicians in Baton Rouge, La., spoke to Healthcare Innovation about integrating Suki with Epic at his health system. “We have a big initiative on closing the charts in a timely fashion. We found this was a great opportunity to help those providers who are struggling in that aspect and put them on a different trajectory,” he said. “We feel that those providers are not spending all that pajama time at home trying to finish some of this off. We really believe that we're just on the cusp of what this technology can do as it evolves. I really think it's going to simplify those patient encounters and the documentation requirements that are there.”