Industry Insight

More Than One-Half of Consumers Want to Use Voice Assistants for Health Care

Based on a survey of 1,004 US adults, a recent Orbita report on the subject of voice assistant adoption in health care includes the following key highlights:

• 7.5% of US consumers have used voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Assistant for health care as of September 2019.
• Nearly 52% would like to use voice assistants for health care use cases in the future.
• 18- to 29-year-olds are the most likely to have used a voice assistant for health care–related services, but 45- to 60-year-olds are the most bullish on the technology.

“This report is the first comprehensive analysis that considers how consumers are using voice assistants today for health care–related needs, explores features they’d like to see in the future, and highlights how provider and technology organizations have responded to the opportunity thus far,” says Orbita President Nathan Treloar.

Teri Fisher, MD, a practicing sports medicine physician and assistant clinical professor at the University of British Columbia, and the founder and host of two podcasts, VoiceFirst Health and Alexa in Canada, says, “From a clinical perspective, voice offers tremendous opportunity to engage with patients in ways we never before imagined. This report provides valuable information for organizations that may be questioning their approach or timing with new voice offerings.”

Bret Kinsella, Voicebot.ai founder and CEO, says, “We are pleased to collaborate with Orbita to publish the first comprehensive report analyzing the intersection of voice assistants and health care. Consumers are enthusiastic about the potential of these new technologies and we hope the data helps health care organizations better understand the market and make decisions about how they can leverage voice assistants to enhance patient engagement.”

— Source: Orbita

Provation Announces New CEO

Provation Medical, a software provider of procedure documentation and clinical decision support solutions, backed by Clearlake Capital Group, LP (together with its affiliates), recently announced Daniel Hamburger as CEO effective immediately. Former CEO Dave Del Toro will continue with the company in the role of executive board member following his successful 20-year career at Provation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Daniel to the Provation team, and Dave to the board of directors,” say Behdad Eghbali, cofounder and managing partner, and Prashant Mehrotra, partner at Clearlake. “Daniel is a proven industry executive who brings more than 25 years of cutting-edge technology leadership and a compelling strategic vision for the company. We are excited for him to take the reins and lead this highly talented team as Provation continues to innovate and bring hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers [ASCs] best-of-breed surgical software solutions.”

Hamburger is an accomplished leader with a proven track record of effectively scaling software platforms across industries. Most recently, Hamburger served as CEO of Renaissance Learning, Inc, a private equity-backed software as a service (SaaS) education analytics platform. He also previously served as CEO of Adtalem Global Education, a $2 billion public provider of education solutions, and of Indeliq, a venture-backed SaaS technology firm. Hamburger began his executive career as president of eCommerce for Grainger.

Hamburger says, “I am honored to succeed Dave as Provation’s next CEO. As the industry-leading procedure documentation software solution, Provation is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of both hospitals and ASCs. With a clear strategic direction and acquisition roadmap, Provation is at an exciting inflection point, and I will be working closely with the team to further accelerate innovation and growth.”

As a member of the board of directors, Del Toro will remain actively engaged with key customer accounts and corporate initiatives.

“Dave has led Provation through a tremendous transformation, from the successful carve-out, to the launch of Provation’s next generation SaaS platform, Apex,” says Paul Huber, vice president at Clearlake. “His continued participation with Provation at the board level will be invaluable, providing for a seamless transition as the company continues its exciting growth trajectory.”

— Source: Provation

Waystar Acquires Recondo Technology

Waystar, a provider of revenue cycle technology, recently announced the acquisition of Recondo Technology, a producer of revenue cycle automation solutions powered by advanced robotic process automation and other artificial intelligence technology allowing providers to be paid more, faster, and at lower cost. The two companies’ goals and technologies complement one another, making this an advantageous next step for both entities—and for the clients they serve.

Recondo brings additional artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to Waystar’s broad portfolio of solutions. The capabilities include patient access technology that addresses inefficiencies surrounding price transparency, eligibility, and preauthorization processes, as well as business office technology that automates status checks for outstanding claims, reducing manual work. Merging Recondo and Waystar’s data will drive heightened accuracy and speed for all solutions, such as increasing the rate at which providers can determine whether a patient has insurance coverage or send a prior authorization to a payer.

“Recondo shares Waystar’s commitment to helping health care organizations take the estimated $350 billion of administrative waste out of the revenue cycle,” says Matt Hawkins, CEO of Waystar. “Joining forces will strengthen our AI-powered offerings, which will in turn drive greater value for our clients and a better experience for patients. We have been impressed by the Recondo team and leadership, whose expertise and professionalism will be a strong addition to Waystar.”

— Source: Waystar