Curai’s CEO and Cofounder Neal Khosla recently spoke at one of the top technology events, the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) for a panel discussion called, “Health AI Startups: Innovating the Future of Healthcare.” He was joined by CEOs from Hippocratic AI, Figur8, and AshaAI, to discuss how healthcare organizations are using AI to transform healthcare, scale operations, and improve patient experience.
The conversation made one thing clear: adopting AI isn’t optional. It’s a critical step for healthcare organizations striving to deliver better, scalable care and improve health outcomes.
During the pandemic, adopting new technologies, like virtual care, was a necessity for providers to continue reaching patients. Innovations in digital health were essential when in-person visits were limited. As brick-and-mortar clinics reopened, patients still struggled to access care, and these issues were magnified by healthcare’s workforce shortages. What has quickly become clear is that generative AI can help bridge these gaps.
Today, healthcare organizations are operating in a reality where clinicians are stretched thin and facing impossible expectations to meet patient needs. In fact, for a standard 2,500 patient panel size, a primary care provider would need 26.7 hours in a day to complete their workload! That workload simply isn’t feasible, but AI-powered tools can help by augmenting care teams and taking on administrative tasks, allowing clinicians to focus on what matters most: delivering high quality, empathetic care.
“What we’re finding is that it consistently blows patients’ minds to get this level of access and speed of response from the healthcare system,” said Neal.
By freeing up clinicians’ time, AI is enabling a level of patient engagement that was previously impossible.
AI shines in areas like healthcare, where there's a lot of complex systems and vast amounts of data that the human brain can't possibly process effectively or efficiently. It can analyze medical histories, highlight care gaps, and support decision-making, allowing clinicians to more effectively care for each patient’s unmet needs.
It can start from the very first interaction. At Curai Health, AI intake chatbots gather information about the reason for a patient’s visit, and assess their condition.
“We have found that customer satisfaction ratings are higher when [patients are] talking to an AI,” Neal noted.
This is likely because patients feel more comfortable sharing their concerns without fear of judgment, and can review their responses before it’s passed to a clinician. The result is a more efficient process for providers and a more engaging, stigma-free experience for patients.
Once a clinician receives a patient’s intake responses, makes a diagnosis, and sets a treatment plan, AI helps keep patients engaged in their care by proactively communicating and providing continuous support. This is especially valuable for patients with chronic conditions who require regular monitoring and frequent, flexible check-ins.
“We have found that patients are willing to use these services 100 times in 100 days when they’re dealing with a chronic illness — and that’s just not something you see in the traditional healthcare system,” said Neal.
The promise of AI will come with rigorous oversight, proactive governance, and intentional design to ensure accurate and high-quality care. In healthcare, failures can directly impact patient health, meaning AI must be built and maintained with the same rigor as any clinical tool. While the industry is actively working to tackle key issues in AI, including bias, transparency, and clinical validation, one thing is clear: gathering the right data early in the development process is critical to building safe, equitable, and effective solutions.
At Curai Health, we’ve established an interdisciplinary team that monitors our AI systems both technically and clinically. This ensures we’re not only keeping pace with advancements in AI, but also upholding the highest standards of patient care.
“With humans,” Neal said, "There's very little transparency or insight into why they’re biased or where they’re biased. But with an AI system, you can actually measure it.”
The benefit of this transparency is that insights can be used to improve and inform future technologies and implementation of AI.
The question is no longer if AI should be a part of healthcare, but rather how we integrate it responsibly and effectively.
The healthcare industry has a responsibility to deliver the best care possible to as many people as possible. AI is already extending the reach and capacity of care teams, improving access for underserved populations, and helping clinicians deliver more efficient, personalized, and proactive care.
The question becomes: Can we afford not to embrace it?
You can watch the full CES panel featuring Curai’s CEO and Cofounder Neal Khosla here.
