Helios Health
63% Reduction in Abandoned Calls, $3.2M Revenue Recovery
Fast Facts
Industry
Healthcare Services
Company Size
1000-2500 employees
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Products Used
• AI Voice Agents• Scheduling Automation• Clinical Workflow Engine• HIPAA-Compliant Infrastructure
Key Results
63%
Call Abandonment Reduction
From 28% to 10.4% abandoned calls
< 2 min
Peak Hold Time
Down from 20 minutes previously
$3.2M
Revenue Recovery
Annual revenue from recovered appointments
$840K
Cost Savings
Eliminated after-hours answering service
+24 pts
Patient Satisfaction
CAHPS survey scores improved
340
High-Priority Cases Surfaced
First 90 days, preventing ER visits
The Challenge
220 Clinics Drowning in Appointment Calls, Abandoning Patients
Helios Health operates a network of 220 primary care and specialty clinics across Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Each clinic received an average of 180 calls daily—appointment scheduling, prescription refills, billing questions, and medical triage.
With 2-3 receptionists per clinic working 8-hour shifts, call volume regularly exceeded capacity. During peak hours (8-10am, 1-3pm), hold times reached 15-25 minutes. **Abandoned call rate hit 28%**—patients hung up before reaching a person, then either called competing providers or delayed necessary care.
Clinical staff spent 90 minutes daily handling overflow calls, reducing time available for patient care. After-hours and weekend calls went to an expensive answering service ($12 per call) that could only take messages, creating Monday morning backlogs of 300+ callbacks.
Key Pain Points
- ✗28% call abandonment rate during peak hours costing $2.8M annually in lost appointments
- ✗15-25 minute hold times damaging patient satisfaction and retention
- ✗Clinical staff pulled from patient care to handle phone overflow
- ✗$840,000 annual cost for after-hours answering service with limited capabilities
- ✗No 24/7 triage capability, forcing patients to ER for non-emergencies
"We were losing patients because they couldn't reach us. The math was brutal: 28% abandonment across 40,000 monthly calls meant 11,000 patients hung up. Some found other providers, others delayed care and ended up in emergency rooms. Both outcomes are failures."
The Solution
AI Receptionists with Clinical Triage and 24/7 Availability
Artifically deployed HIPAA-compliant AI voice agents across all 220 clinics in a phased 6-week rollout, starting with 10 pilot locations.
**Voice AI Capabilities:**
The AI receptionists handle appointment scheduling, cancellations, prescription refill requests, billing questions, and basic medical triage. They access Helios's EHR (Epic) in real-time to check provider availability, patient history, and insurance eligibility. Natural language understanding enables conversational interactions—patients describe symptoms in their own words, and the AI routes appropriately.
**Clinical Triage Integration:**
Built in partnership with Helios's clinical team, the triage protocols assess symptom severity and urgency. The AI asks follow-up questions based on patient responses, following evidence-based decision trees. **High-priority cases (chest pain, severe bleeding, stroke symptoms) immediately transfer to on-call clinicians** with a summary of the conversation. Routine matters are scheduled appropriately.
**Human Handoff:**
Patients can request a human receptionist at any point. Complex situations (multiple insurance issues, specialized procedures, sensitive topics) automatically escalate. Human receptionists see full AI conversation history, eliminating repetition.
Key Features Implemented
- ✓24/7 availability for scheduling, triage, and routine requests
- ✓Real-time EHR integration for appointment availability and patient history
- ✓Clinical triage with automatic escalation for urgent symptoms
- ✓Seamless human handoff for complex situations with conversation context
- ✓Bilingual support (English/Spanish) with natural conversation flow
- ✓Full HIPAA compliance and audit trails
Timeline: 6 weeks from pilot to full 220-clinic deployment
"The AI doesn't replace our receptionists—it augments them. Routine calls (70% of volume) are handled instantly, freeing our human team to focus on patients with complex needs. And crucially, we have 24/7 coverage for the first time ever. Patients can schedule appointments at 11pm."
The Impact
63% Reduction in Abandoned Calls, $3.2M Revenue Recovery
Within 60 days, call abandonment dropped from 28% to 10.4%—a 63% reduction. Hold times during peak hours fell from 20 minutes to under 2 minutes. **Patient satisfaction scores (CAHPS) improved by 24 points**, with call access being the primary driver.
Financial impact was substantial: recovering 7,000 monthly appointments (previously abandoned calls) generated $3.2M in annual revenue. The expensive after-hours answering service was eliminated, saving $840K annually. Clinic receptionists could focus on in-person patients, improving check-in wait times by 40%.
The clinical triage capability surfaced 340 high-priority cases in the first 90 days—patients with chest pain, severe allergic reactions, or stroke symptoms who received same-day care instead of waiting or going to the ER. Estimated savings from ER diversion: $680,000 in the first year.
Additional Benefits
- ✓24/7 availability for the first time, improving access for working patients
- ✓Receptionists shifted focus to complex needs and in-person patient experience
- ✓Clinical staff spend 90 fewer minutes daily on overflow calls
- ✓Bilingual support expanded access for Spanish-speaking patients
- ✓Real-time triage improved care quality and patient safety
"We're a mission-driven organization—access to care is everything. Artifically helped us serve more patients, faster, with better triage. The AI never takes a sick day, never gets overwhelmed during flu season, and always asks the right follow-up questions. It's transformative."
"The implementation was faster than any healthcare IT project I've seen—6 weeks from contract to full deployment across 220 clinics. And it actually works. Our patients love it, our staff love it, and our CFO loves the ROI. Artifically understood healthcare complexity in a way other vendors didn't."
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