Attuned Intelligence Raises $13 Million to Automate Hospital Call Centers

Attuned Intelligence, a healthcare AI startup, has officially launched from stealth mode with a significant seed funding round of $13 million. This investment was led by Radical Ventures and Threshold Ventures, and aims to enhance product development, expand the team, and increase deployments of its technology across hospitals and safety-net providers across the United States.

Addressing Patient Access Challenges

The funding comes at a crucial time when patient access to care in the U.S. is facing severe challenges. Hospitals reportedly spend tens of billions of dollars annually on call centers, yet current staffing shortages mean that many operate at only about 60% of required capacity. This deficiency prevents millions of patients from receiving timely care.

Attuned’s primary offering is a supervised voice AI platform specifically designed for hospital and health system call centers. This innovative system can handle patient calls instantly and is capable of resolving up to 70% of all interactions autonomously.

The platform features several key components that enhance its effectiveness:
– **Immediate Access**: Patients receive instant, compassionate assistance.
– **Safety-First Design**: Routine inquiries are automated, while urgent matters are prioritized and escalated.
– **Transparent Oversight**: The system accommodates multiple languages and allows operations leaders to monitor decision-making in real time.

According to Domenic Donato, co-founder and CEO of Attuned, “We founded Attuned to rise to one of healthcare’s hardest access challenges: to answer and resolve all patient phone calls. Our platform delivers immediate, compassionate access for patients while giving operations teams real-time oversight.” He emphasized that the platform is built for hospital-grade scalability and safety, and the response from health systems has been overwhelmingly positive. Attuned is currently onboarding multiple hospitals each week and managing thousands of calls daily.

Impact on Safety-Net Providers

Early implementations of Attuned’s technology have shown promising results, particularly within safety-net providers. For instance, the Lowell Community Health Center (CHC), which serves approximately 40,000 patients annually, became operational with Attuned’s platform in just 10 days. The AI now manages every call to its main line, available around the clock, addressing a wide range of inquiries from emergencies to billing questions, often in multiple languages.

The partnership with Attuned is projected to automate over 70% of Lowell CHC’s call center operations, allowing staff to focus more on direct patient care. This reflects a growing trend where health systems are increasingly looking to technology to improve efficiency and access.

Furthermore, one health system currently scaling with Attuned handles nearly 50,000 calls weekly, a volume easily managed by the AI platform. Padma Sastry, Chief Information Officer at Lowell Community Health Center, noted that the collaboration supports their mission to improve patient access and maintain an exceptional patient experience, ensuring that language barriers are addressed effectively.

As Attuned Intelligence continues to grow, its innovative approach to automating hospital call centers may significantly reshape patient access dynamics in the healthcare sector. The company’s focus on safety, efficiency, and compassionate care positions it as a key player in addressing one of healthcare’s most pressing challenges.