Hospital patients/family members test drive AI phone software co-created by HHS doctor.

A Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) rheumatologist, a Niagara family doctor and a Toronto-area software engineer have teamed up to develop a high-tech remedy for busy medical clinics – an artificial intelligence (AI) receptionist that can answer unlimited phone calls at once so no caller is ever on hold or transferred to voicemail.

Their Strello Health AI-powered phone software sounds so realistic, it’s hard to tell that the virtual receptionist’s voice isn’t human. The fully integrated voice platform can book appointments, process prescription refills, answer questions, and more, freeing up about four hours a day for busy office staff to focus on their other duties.

“Office staff are incredibly busy, and don’t always have time to answer phones,” says Dr. Reza Mirza, an HHS rheumatologist, internist, innovator and Strello Health co-founder. “As a result, it has become increasingly common across Canada for patient calls at medical clinics to be placed on hold or sent directly to voicemail.”

Mirza co-founded Strello Health with Thorold family physician Dr. Ali Qamar and Toronto area software engineer Ali Sharif. Mirza and Qamar met as medical students at McMaster University, and looped in friend Sharif for the partnership.

As well as being a huge time-saver for clinic staff, the technology cuts down on patient frustration since calls are always answered by a friendly, helpful AI voice with infinite time and patience.

Their Strello Health system is currently being marketed to family doctors’ offices across Ontario, but it could also benefit other busy health-care settings such as hospitals,” says Mirza, emphasizing the goal isn’t to replace staff.

“The idea is that staff can spend more time checking in patients, managing the office, and doing things that require a human touch instead of spending their day on the phone.”

Test driving AI technology

When Strello Health soft-launched in June 2024, members of the HHS Patient and Family Advisory Council were invited to test drive the system and provide feedback to the co-founders, so any fine tuning could be done before the product went to market.

The Patient and Family Advisory Council is made up of HHS patients and family members who share their hospital experiences and give feedback to help make care better. They play an important role in improving how HHS delivers health care across the region, and council participation also includes opportunities to take part in focus groups with hospital doctors, staff and industry partners designing innovative new health technology.

“It’s a great way for our physicians, staff and industry partners who develop products to receive feedback from potential end users,” says Andrea Lee, manager of research development, innovation and partnerships at HHS. Lee recruited several Patient and Family Advisory Council members to test drive Strello Health. The testers found it to be far superior to automated phone systems where callers are given a range of options such as, “Press 1 for customer service,” with menus that can be long and confusing.

Future plans include making the system available in multiple languages.

“It felt like I was talking to a person,” says Emily Brown, an HHS patient advisor. “I was pleasantly surprised. I think it’s a really good solution for an issue that’s annoying for many patients.” The AI receptionist was able to handle tricky questions posed by Brown, and when she asked to speak with a real person, the AI receptionist promptly connected Brown to the front desk.

Jeff Brinson became a family member advisor because his daughter is an HHS patient. He tried out the system last year, and recently returned to demonstrate it for an HHS video. “I thought it was really good – easy to use and convenient,” says Brinson.

He pushed the technology’s capabilities by changing his appointment availability multiple times, griping about parking, and asking whether his prescriptions would be covered by insurance. He interrupted the AI receptionist repeatedly, and at one point called ‘her’ rude to see how the technology would respond. But since the receptionist is machine-generated, the voice remained calm and unflappable. Brinson even faked heart attack symptoms, prompting the technology to calmly instruct him to call 911.

A master multitasker

As well as fielding unlimited calls efficiently, and politely, the AI receptionist can book appointments, answer questions, and order medication refills. This system can also send appointment reminders over text and email to minimize no-shows, and arrange outgoing faxes for labs and imaging requests such as CT scans and MRIs. There’s seamless integration with clinics’ electronic medical records and phone systems, without a change to workflows. And if callers want to reach a real person, they can ask to be put through to the front desk. Future plans include making the system available in multiple languages.

“Strello Health is an innovative and creative use of novel technology that may have much broader implications when it comes to streamlining ways that patients connect with their health care providers,” says Dr. Marc Jeschke, vice president of research and chief scientific officer for HHS.

From the front lines

After Strello Health launched last year, it went live with pilot trials in two family doctors’ offices including the Nobleton Medical Clinic, north of Vaughan. Results were so impressive, both clinics became customers.

More launches are currently underway in southwestern Ontario, with another 30 clinics on a wait list to have the technology installed.

“I’m quite impressed with its performance so far,” says Dr. Eric Da Silva, a family doctor with the Nobleton clinic. Da Silva was the first of five doctors at his clinic to try out the system. Since then, two more Nobleton clinic doctors have started using it. “The system was well received by my patients, so we expanded it,” says Da Silva.

Prior to introducing this technology, 70 to 80 per cent of calls to the Nobleton clinic were going to voice mail, with office staff having dedicated time each workday to return messages. “The advantage with this system is that 100 per cent of calls are answered,” says Da Silva, adding that based on the latest metrics, 50 per cent of calls were handled by the AI receptionist without human involvement.

When patients’ requests were too complex for AI to manage, or when callers asked to speak to a human, they were forwarded to the front desk.

“The system is equipped to recognize what’s beyond its scope and it does a good job of transferring to the front desk when necessary,” says Da Silva. “And because it’s an AI system, it’s continuously learning, and getting better at recognizing what it can and can’t handle.”

While the system has provided welcome relief for Nobleton’s front desk staff, Da Silva says he’s especially glad that it helps even the playing field for patients when it comes to booking their own appointments using technology. Offering the service in multiple languages down the road is another exciting feature.

“The province has said it would like all family practices in Ontario to offer a way for patients to book their own appointments,” says Da Silva, who’s not in favour of directing patients to a website or app for self-booking because some patients may struggle with using computers.

Phones, though, have been part of our lives for decades so using them feels natural to most people, he says.

“With Strello Health, everyone has equal access. That was my primary motivation for bring the system to our Nobleton clinic. It’s our way of meeting the province’s aspirational goal, and if autonomous patient booking becomes a requirement down the road, we’ll be ready.”