Hospitals, life sciences companies, and insurers turn to agentic AI to ease workloads, speed care, and personalize support.
Agentic AI is rapidly moving from concept to reality in hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and life sciences organizations. As healthcare systems face rising costs, staffing shortages, and operational inefficiencies, AI agents are emerging as powerful tools to improve patient access, reduce administrative work, and enhance overall care experiences. Across the industry, major CX and cloud platforms are helping lead this shift. Salesforce, Genesys, and Qualtrics are integrating agentic AI deeply into their healthcare offerings. While many organizations are still learning how to fit AI agents into their workflows, early adopters are already reporting measurable improvements.
One striking example comes from Las Vegas. Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI) uses a Genesys-powered AI agent to manage late-night MRI scheduling. In a city known for operating around the clock, SDMI offers appointments up to 11 p.m. Coordinating referrals, insurance checks, and scanner availability can be overwhelming for human staff. The virtual agent now handles 4,000 additional monthly calls and has lowered call abandonment from 10% to under 3%. It operates 24/7, answering routine questions and booking appointments, thereby easing pressure on staff and enabling patients to receive timely scans.
In Phoenix, Adobe Population Health is developing a Salesforce-based agent to assist clinicians during hour-long patient assessments. These interviews cover medical history, emotional needs, and social determinants of health, such as food insecurity or lack of transportation. The AI agent will handle documentation automatically, allowing nurses and social workers to focus on the patient, not the keyboard. This supports more personalized care plans and better health outcomes.
Other organizations are using agentic AI to overcome data challenges. Haleon plans to use AI-driven insights to help sales reps recommend the right product mix to pharmacies and dental clinics, based on local patient needs. Qualtrics’ nearly $7 billion acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta gives it access to deep patient experience data that can fuel AI agents capable of remembering patient preferences and proactively improving the care journey.
Pharmaceutical companies are also embracing agentic AI. Matching patients to financial assistance programs, verifying insurance benefits, and ensuring medication access involve time-consuming manual processes. AI agents can accelerate these steps, helping patients start treatments sooner. Deloitte is releasing prebuilt agents for Salesforce’s Life Sciences Cloud to streamline these services.
Overall, agentic AI is becoming a key part of healthcare’s future, helping organizations reduce administrative burdens, increase efficiency, and deliver care that feels more human, not less.
