Carrick Health Innovations has launched an AI-based phone platform for healthcare providers. The system is now in use in a cancer pre-screening programme run by NL Health Services.
The St. John's company says the product links phone interactions with patient records and grew out of its existing patient texting software. The platform tracks and transcribes calls, logs voicemails into contact records, and queues follow-up actions when calls go unanswered.
Chief Executive Officer Josh Taylor said Carrick built the system in response to healthcare's continued reliance on phone calls, even as other sectors have shifted more communication to email and messaging tools. Many patients, he said, remain reluctant to use portals, logins and apps when contacting care providers.
"Despite the hype around digital health, 80% to 90% of patients are hesitant to use logins, portals and customized apps and still rely on the phone to communicate with their healthcare provider, showing that voice calls aren't going away any time soon," Taylor said.
He said that reliance adds to day-to-day operational pressures in clinics.
"Still, there's a lot of room for improvement when it comes to phone service quality to ensure that calls get answered, voicemails get returned, and follow-ups are completed - challenges that front-desk healthcare staff struggle with daily," Taylor said.
Carrick launched in 2020 under the name TxtSquad and expanded around two-way texting between patients and providers. Taylor said the company later identified missed calls and poor telephone follow-up as a persistent issue for healthcare organisations, leading it to connect a phone product with its messaging platform.
"Our business started with two-way texting between patients and healthcare providers, but we quickly realized that providers experience a lot of phone issues, including missed calls," Taylor said.
He said the newer product gives staff a broader view of patient contact.
"With our new offering, we're now able to provide healthcare staff with valuable data that covers a patient's complete contact history, so as soon as someone calls, they know who the patient is and the context of why they're calling," Taylor said.
According to Carrick, the added tracking has helped reduce appointment no-shows, which Taylor said can reach 25% at some clinics. The product rolled out in the spring and has since been adopted by NL Health Services' cancer pre-screening programme, which handles thousands of appointments each year.
Student support
Development of the phone platform also drew on student interns from the College of the North Atlantic through a Mitacs programme. Taylor said funding from the national innovation organisation helped Carrick bring in student developers to support research and product testing.
"Mitacs is a fantastic program," Taylor said.
"Because of their funding, we were able to attract really sharp students who come in with a fresh perspective and enthusiasm that has helped propel our R&D efforts forward," he said.
One student involved in the work, Scott Adams, is a fourth-year software developer student at the College of the North Atlantic. Carrick said he has been offered a full-time job after graduation.
Adams worked on testing and deploying the AI phone system.
"Mitacs has allowed me to work for an exciting, up-and-coming local startup and gain real work experience without having to worry about being able to support myself, which as a student in this economy is pretty amazing," Adams said.
"It's a wonderful program and I appreciate having the opportunity to learn cutting-edge tools and work on systems that have a real and immediate impact on healthcare," he said.
Mitacs Chief Executive Officer Dr. Stephen Lucas said the Carrick project showed how student placements could support AI work in Canadian businesses while developing future workers.
"At a time when we need to harness the potential of AI to build a stronger Canadian economy, the collaboration between Mitacs and Carrick demonstrates what's possible when we invest in ideas and connect industry with young, highly skilled talent," Lucas said.
"As a key delivery partner in the federal AI for All strategy, we're not only helping businesses adopt, innovate, and succeed with AI, but we're helping build the workforce of the future," he said.
Health use
NL Health Services said patients in its breast screening programme have found it easier to reach clinics, ask questions and change appointments through the system. Staff have also spent less time returning voicemail messages and making repeated calls.
"With Carrick's phone system, patients are finding it much easier to contact the clinic, ask questions, and book or adjust their screening appointments," said Greg Doyle, Provincial Manager of Breast Screening Program, NL Health Services.
He said the wider Carrick platform had become an important part of patient communication across primary healthcare sites.
"The new phone technology has also significantly reduced the time staff spend calling patients and responding to voicemail, allowing them to reallocate time to other clinical and administrative tasks," Doyle said.
Carrick said similar cancer pre-screening programmes in other provinces are also set to deploy the phone platform. Taylor said the company sees missed calls, appointment no-shows and fragmented patient contact data as practical problems providers want to address through a communication channel patients already use.
"Eliminating missed calls, reducing appointment no-shows, and tracking patient communication data are huge positives for healthcare providers," Taylor said.
"Carrick's mission is to make healthcare more accessible, and our phone AI system does just that by enabling providers to reach patients through the simplest communication channel they already use daily," he said.