Stop Forcing Patients Into Decision Trees: The MyCare Medical Approach with healow Genie
The digital front door in healthcare is notoriously difficult to get right. Health systems pour capital into complex call centers, only to frustrate patients with rigid menus and long hold times. Chatbots promise a better path, but they often stumble when a conversation veers off script. The reality? Patients do not think or speak in a linear flow.
Healthcare IT Today sat down with Gary Moorefield, Vice President of Technology at MyCare Medical (MyCare), to discuss their deployment of healow Genie. We explored how the platform handles messy and non-linear phone conversations, why deep EHR access is non-negotiable, and the tangible benefits of giving time back to staff.
Key Takeaways
- Dynamic conversations build immediate patient trust. People do not speak in decision trees. Systems capable of handling non-linear jumps build immediate credibility by mimicking a real human interaction, like healow Genie.
- Deep EHR access is absolutely necessary. Digital front door initiatives fall flat if the system cannot easily retrieve and write data directly to the underlying patient record.
- AI is meant to give time back to your team. Automating routine patient calls is not about replacing staff. It removes call volume pressure so staff (front desk or call center) can focus on complex scheduling and care coordination.
healow Genie Handles Non-Linear Conversations
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is the common technology used today to triage patient calls. We have all experienced the frustration of these robotic gatekeepers: “Press 1 if you need to make an appointment. Press 2 if you are a new patient. Press 3…” These systems force callers into a rigid, linear box.
healow Genie takes a different approach by embracing how people actually speak. A patient might call for a medication refill, suddenly remember they need a follow up appointment, and then ask about a lingering referral. A traditional IVR crashes under this logic, but the conversational AI abilities of Genie adapts to the dynamics of these pivot.
“You can ask Genie everything in one conversation, and you’re on and off the phone in five minutes,” said Moorefield. Allowing patients to just talk, rather than forcing them through an inflexible menu, removes friction and quickly builds trust.
Deep EMR Access is Non-Negotiable
Before landing on their current solution, the MyCare team spent months evaluating several third-party products. The dealbreaker was always how hard it would be to connect those systems to their EHR.
“The integration piece was what was going to be challenging for us,” Moorefield recalled. “With Genie, it has access to all the data that we have access to in eClinicalWorks, our EHR.”
That deep EHR integration is the key to the dynamic conversation that Genie can have with patients. It also ensures the system can read and write to the chart instantly. Bonus, Genie is built in lock-step with the eClinicalWorks EHR so as both systems change, the integration remains intact.
healow Genie Gives Time Back to the Team
The immediate fear with any automation rollout is staff reduction. Moorefield was quick to correct that narrative. The goal at MyCare was never to trim the workforce or eliminate jobs.
Instead, the leadership team wanted to shield administrative staff from a crushing volume of routine requests. Automating those requests allows the clinic to operate more smoothly. The goal is to “take some of that pressure off of them so that they can focus on the things that they really need to focus on,” Moorefield explained.
The Bottom Line for Health IT Leaders
Digital front doors that are tightly integrated with EHR systems and that can handle the natural way that patients want to interact are unexpected today, but will quickly become the expected norm. Clinics relying on rigid phone workflows will struggle to attract and retain patients. MyCare recognized this need early and chose to adopt Genie, a solution that is tightly integrated and able to navigate non-linear human conversations, while reducing workload on their staff.
What Healthcare IT Leaders Are Asking
How does conversational AI integrate with legacy EHRs? Deep integration requires robust bidirectional APIs or native tools built directly by the EHR vendor. Without direct read and write capabilities, bots cannot independently schedule appointments or process refills. This lack of access reduces them to glorified answering machines that simply pass messages to human staff.
Will AI-powered call center solutions reduce our administrative headcount? Most organizations find that AI does not reduce headcount. Instead, it absorbs the high volume of low-complexity calls. This gives administrative teams the necessary time back to manage complex patient intakes, coordinate care gaps, and handle exceptions that require human intervention.
Can AI handle multiple patient requests in one call? Yes, modern systems like healow Genie, use AI to manage non-linear conversations. A caller can interrupt, change topics, or stack requests. The system tracks the context and fulfills each task without forcing the patient to navigate a rigid step-by-step menu.
Learn more about MyCare Medical at https://www.mycare.us/
Learn more about healow Genie at https://plus.healow.com/
Listen and subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today Interviews Podcast to hear all the latest insights from experts in healthcare IT.
And for an exclusive look at our top stories, subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube.
Tell us what you think. Contact us here or on Twitter at @hcitoday. And if you’re interested in advertising with us, check out our various advertising packages and request our Media Kit.
eCW is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene.
The digital front door in healthcare is notoriously difficult to get right. Health systems pour capital into complex call centers, only to frustrate patients with rigid menus and long hold times. Chatbots promise a better path, but they often stumble when a conversation veers off script. The reality? Patients do not think or speak in a linear flow.
Healthcare IT Today sat down with Gary Moorefield, Vice President of Technology at MyCare Medical (MyCare), to discuss their deployment of healow Genie. We explored how the platform handles messy and non-linear phone conversations, why deep EHR access is non-negotiable, and the tangible benefits of giving time back to staff.
Key Takeaways
- Dynamic conversations build immediate patient trust. People do not speak in decision trees. Systems capable of handling non-linear jumps build immediate credibility by mimicking a real human interaction, like healow Genie.
- Deep EHR access is absolutely necessary. Digital front door initiatives fall flat if the system cannot easily retrieve and write data directly to the underlying patient record.
- AI is meant to give time back to your team. Automating routine patient calls is not about replacing staff. It removes call volume pressure so staff (front desk or call center) can focus on complex scheduling and care coordination.
healow Genie Handles Non-Linear Conversations
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is the common technology used today to triage patient calls. We have all experienced the frustration of these robotic gatekeepers: “Press 1 if you need to make an appointment. Press 2 if you are a new patient. Press 3…” These systems force callers into a rigid, linear box.
healow Genie takes a different approach by embracing how people actually speak. A patient might call for a medication refill, suddenly remember they need a follow up appointment, and then ask about a lingering referral. A traditional IVR crashes under this logic, but the conversational AI abilities of Genie adapts to the dynamics of these pivot.
“You can ask Genie everything in one conversation, and you’re on and off the phone in five minutes,” said Moorefield. Allowing patients to just talk, rather than forcing them through an inflexible menu, removes friction and quickly builds trust.
Deep EMR Access is Non-Negotiable
Before landing on their current solution, the MyCare team spent months evaluating several third-party products. The dealbreaker was always how hard it would be to connect those systems to their EHR.
“The integration piece was what was going to be challenging for us,” Moorefield recalled. “With Genie, it has access to all the data that we have access to in eClinicalWorks, our EHR.”
That deep EHR integration is the key to the dynamic conversation that Genie can have with patients. It also ensures the system can read and write to the chart instantly. Bonus, Genie is built in lock-step with the eClinicalWorks EHR so as both systems change, the integration remains intact.
healow Genie Gives Time Back to the Team
The immediate fear with any automation rollout is staff reduction. Moorefield was quick to correct that narrative. The goal at MyCare was never to trim the workforce or eliminate jobs.
Instead, the leadership team wanted to shield administrative staff from a crushing volume of routine requests. Automating those requests allows the clinic to operate more smoothly. The goal is to “take some of that pressure off of them so that they can focus on the things that they really need to focus on,” Moorefield explained.
The Bottom Line for Health IT Leaders
Digital front doors that are tightly integrated with EHR systems and that can handle the natural way that patients want to interact are unexpected today, but will quickly become the expected norm. Clinics relying on rigid phone workflows will struggle to attract and retain patients. MyCare recognized this need early and chose to adopt Genie, a solution that is tightly integrated and able to navigate non-linear human conversations, while reducing workload on their staff.
What Healthcare IT Leaders Are Asking
How does conversational AI integrate with legacy EHRs? Deep integration requires robust bidirectional APIs or native tools built directly by the EHR vendor. Without direct read and write capabilities, bots cannot independently schedule appointments or process refills. This lack of access reduces them to glorified answering machines that simply pass messages to human staff.
Will AI-powered call center solutions reduce our administrative headcount? Most organizations find that AI does not reduce headcount. Instead, it absorbs the high volume of low-complexity calls. This gives administrative teams the necessary time back to manage complex patient intakes, coordinate care gaps, and handle exceptions that require human intervention.
Can AI handle multiple patient requests in one call? Yes, modern systems like healow Genie, use AI to manage non-linear conversations. A caller can interrupt, change topics, or stack requests. The system tracks the context and fulfills each task without forcing the patient to navigate a rigid step-by-step menu.
Learn more about MyCare Medical at https://www.mycare.us/
Learn more about healow Genie at https://plus.healow.com/
Listen and subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today Interviews Podcast to hear all the latest insights from experts in healthcare IT.
And for an exclusive look at our top stories, subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube.
Tell us what you think. Contact us here or on Twitter at @hcitoday. And if you’re interested in advertising with us, check out our various advertising packages and request our Media Kit.
eCW is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene.
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2026-06-02 21:30
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Healthcare Central is published from a syndicated feed.
