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Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
AI Voice Agents for Surgical Specialty Clinics with Dr. Comron Saifi and Dr. Neel Patel at ClinicFlow
00:21:08
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- [00:00]
A
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by two brilliant physician entrepreneurs. We're going to talk today about AI voice agents for surgical specialty clinics. So AI voice agents for surgical specialty clinics. We've got two leaders. Brilliant. Dr. Kamran Seifi, Dr. Neil Patel at Clinic Flow. Gentlemen, let me ask you to take a moment to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about clinic flow. Dr. Seyfi, let me ask you to start and then we'll go to Dr. Patel. Give us a little bit of your background and how you guys ended up in this and what you guys do.
- [00:39]
B
Great. No, thank you, Scott. So I'm an orthopedic spine surgeon and Dr. Patel is an orthopedic sports surgeon. We're the co founders of Clinic Flow. We're both practicing orthopedic surgeons who built Clinic Flow to really fix the problems that surgeons just like us deal with every day. And so ClinicFlow is a voice AI platform built for surgical specialty practices, as you mentioned, such as orthopedic surgery, where we focus. And these practices, as you may know, the phone never stops ringing. And so our goal is to take that burden off of the practice.
- [01:18]
A
Thank you. And where do you practice at? And tell us a bit about your practice.
- [01:23]
B
Yeah, so I practice in Houston at the Texas Medical Center. My practice spans from minimally invasive to spinal deformity surgery, surgical oncology. My patients come in sometimes. Typically we often treat non operatively for most patients, to be honest, but when it does require surgery, then I do prefer minimally invasive techniques. So I've been doing a lot more endoscopic spine surgery over the last few years. And really I trained at Rush, so stay true to my roots with motion preserving surgery. We've been. I continue to do a lot of cervical disc replacements and even lumbar disc replacements.
- [02:13]
A
Fantastic. And certainly an amazing residency program and program at Rush and tremendous leadership there. Dr. Patel, tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to this too. And are you guys partners in practice as well or just partners in business?
- [02:27]
C
Yeah. So, you know, as Connor mentioned, I'm orthopedic sports surgeon and we practice together. And my practice actually is based for treating mostly knee and shoulder ligamentous and tenderness injuries. So rotator cuff, ACL reconstructions, those type of procedures. Procedures and kind of came into Clinic Flow like Kamara mentioned, you know, certainly looking at some of the challenges that we've seen throughout our training. You know, I trained a Rothman for fellowship and certainly high focus on, you know, Optimizing patient triage and access, and certainly thinking about those things throughout our training and practice and seeing all the challenges that we've seen kind of throughout coming towards this idea and trying to implement it.
- [03:24]
A
Amazing. And I'm going to ask you the important question, Dr. Patel. Where is better training? Is it at Rothman or Rush for orthopedics, which is the better program? No, you don't have to answer that, nor do you have to answer with the better surgeons of the two of you.
- [03:38]
B
I think Kara will give us a phone call during this call.
- [03:41]
A
That could happen right now. Talk to us for a second. Dr. Sabi, why don't you take the lead here? When did you start this? How is it going? What trends are you watching? Give us a little bit of how it's going and how you got this going.
- [03:56]
B
Yeah, so. And Neil's very humble. He's. He's kind of the brains behind a lot of this. He went to MIT and a very smart guy. And the rest of our team is incredibly intelligent. And so I think really it comes from the team. So we've got a fantastic team. And Neil and I, we saw this issue and others are trying to tackle this issue, but I think the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. So when we look at what we do, we look at it from the perspective of, obviously, as the surgeon, but also the perspective of the patient, having been a patient myself and having my family members go through it, as most of us have. And so, you know, we looked at this. This issue, which is, you know, a complex issue, but as you know, private practices are getting the squeeze. And so there's a huge consolidation. And we saw an opportunity here that, you know, not only just using AI, it's not really about the AI, and AI has become a commodity at this point, but it's how you use it. And we use it in a way to really successfully get patients better access and get physicians more new patients and really connect the right patients to the right physicians. And so that's really what drove us to do this. And we've been able to do it because we have such a great team and a talented team, both in terms of tech, but also operations.
- [05:27]
A
Thank you. Dr. Patel, when you look at this next six months, this next year, what are you most focused on and excited about?
- [05:37]
C
Yeah, I mean, I think looking ahead, you know, certainly so far, we've done a lot of things that we're really proud of. You know, certainly we built a robust team, as Carmen mentioned. You know, certainly I think that's the foundation of what we're doing. And then, you know, successfully deployed our product and gotten into several clinics where our voice agents are running smoothly and improving patient experience and are able to resolve up to greater than 70% of calls that come into a particular clinic. So we're really now looking at the next step. We're really excited about three main features that we're going to try to come out with in the next several months. The first one is looking at referrals because this is what really sustains practices, right? And automating that process of getting patients into the clinic through the referring primary care providers using, you know, integrated facts and taking basically everything that's not digital now and trying to make it, make it digital to automate the process. And then also as practices and also looking at the value based care becoming more prominent in surgical specialties, we're already seeing that with bundled payments in total knee art and hip arthroplasty. I think that's where voice AI can really become even more powerful. Focusing on pre op and post op outbound calls to really, you know, make sure protocols are followed and proper education is there, as well as, you know, being able to address any issues that may arrive post operatively quickly. And then I think the final thing, you know, looking ahead over the next six months or so is looking at the more, more so at the insurance side of things. And you know, we already have a component, you know, focusing on intake and identification of different insurance plans, but really focusing more on the prior authorization automation portion of things where that's really become, you know, very, very much national crisis where, you know, there's all these different plans and even within the same insurance carrier, different plans have so many nuances. And really looking at both sides, not only, you know, from the information that we get from the clinical side, but also the information we have from the insurance side and bringing those together to really streamline that process and get access and care to patients more quickly.
- [08:26]
B
And Scott, I would add one thing here to what Neil said and all of these things people have talked about for a long time, but when we run it through, and these are running in our clinics throughout the US they're running smoothly. We're hyper focused on the clinic experience and the patient experience. And so we, we make sure that these, you know, whatever we have, whether it runs through our dashboard on the back end or it runs through the voice AI agents that run in tandem, that it's smooth, that it is a very smooth experience for both the caller and, and the Clinic. And I think that's what really distinguishes, as well as the fact that 70% of our calls are resolved. Over 70%, really, because we handle clinical calls. No other group really does that yet. So I think I'm really proud that that's what we have been able to achieve.
- [09:29]
A
Literally. Remarkable. So I'm going to ask you a couple questions. Dr. Patel, both brilliant, brilliant careers is leaders. As surgeons. You've. You've an endowed chair, an assistant professor, tremendous careers. Is it harder to be a leader and a surgeon or to be an entrepreneur? Which is harder? Which is more challenging for, you know, where's the grass greener?
- [09:57]
B
No, I think. I think that's a. That's a great question. I mean, you know, there are different challenges, and they're very different skill sets. And I think that our goal in this is to really, you know, we as surgeons help patients one at a time, but we think that we can do something at scale here. And I think that the challenges, you know, that we face in the clinic, some of them do translate. Some of the skills do translate to, you know, being a good entrepreneur. I mean, you know, we always talk about attention to detail with our fellows and residents. We talk about, you know, a lot of the same principles that I think have served us very well as entrepreneurs. And certainly, I think our orthopedic surgery training and the rigors of that have really helped us, you know, with being an entrepreneur and starting a company that has, you know, grown and is now, you know, expanding and both brilliant folks.
- [11:07]
A
Dartmouth, MIT, Columbia. Dr. Patel, I'll ask you the hard question. Let me know if you're ready.
- [11:13]
C
Yep.
- [11:14]
A
Can the Philadelphia Phillies be saved or are they done for?
- [11:20]
C
Well, I think careful what you say.
- [11:22]
B
If you want to go to Philadelphia again.
- [11:25]
C
I mean, I think the Eagles are, you know, I think with. With the team that they have assembled, I think they have a shot, you know, and so, you know, I think they have the promise of going far, and so hopefully they'll be able to execute and get it done.
- [11:42]
A
Now, Dr. Patel, I know at one point you had served as a team physician, assistant team physician for the Philadelphia Phillies. Before I get back to a serious question. Do you have a favorite sports team? Is there a favorite sports team that you cheer for?
- [11:55]
C
Yeah, I mean, certainly during my fellowship, I had the opportunity to work with the Phillies and the Eagles. So that was experience. And certainly, you know, being that close and being, you know, feeling like you're part of that team, you know, makes it hard to root against or root for anyone. Else, you know, and so, you know, certainly I still hope that the Eagles and the Phillies do well. You know, been following them ever since, since Fellowship. And so, you know, every year, you know, when they won the super bowl, not, not last year, but the year before, you know, certainly it was. It was amazing. So, you know, I think those are, those are still two of my favorite teams and certainly, you know, my childhood teams, but, you know, certainly following those teams ever since Fellowship, just on a different level because you felt like you're part of the team, taking care of them for that year.
- [12:51]
A
Fantastic. And talk about. And again, was there a favorite player or somebody that was particularly friendly when you were a fellow there? And anybody that you think of from either, particularly from the Eagles, of the Phillies, that you think, God, that was a nice person, we can't talk about anybody bad because we don't want to get sued. Was there anybody that was just very nice and gracious?
- [13:11]
C
No. I mean, no one. I can't think of anyone in particular, but certainly, you know, I think everyone, you know, was, you know, that I interacted with was. Was very nice. You know, I think certainly, you know, very, very good culture in both of those teams. And certainly, I think all of, you know, the whole environment and experience was amazing to be a part of. And I think you certainly realize that a lot of those guys are very down to earth and great to interact with.
- [13:44]
B
Scott, I would add one thing. I was in Philadelphia for four years practicing when I was at UPenn, and I have to say, well, I didn't meet the players, the fans of all the places I've lived. The Philly fans are a force to be reckoned with. I will just say that. Especially when they won the Super Bowl. I remember before the game, I was walking to clinic and they were greasing the light poles, and I didn't understand why. So I asked the clinic staff, I said, why are they working on all the light poles? They said, well, the super bowl today. I said, I don't understand. They said, oh, well, you know, if they don't grease them, everybody's going to climb up the light poles. So, you know, those fans are pretty serious about, about, about the Eagles.
- [14:36]
A
It's really a place, notwithstanding the brilliance of Rothman, the University of Pennsylvania and more, where there's a lot of rabid fans that aren't particularly intelligent. But it is an amazing thing. Now, that's a joke to all the Philadelphia listeners. We understand that a lot of you, very bright, but just rabid. Dr. Seifi tell us this advice you would give to either emerging surgeons. Let's start there. Emerging orthopedic surgeons want to have impactful lives. Like, I love what you're doing. I find the most satisfied physician leaders. Both are physicians first, but they also are doing something else that really interests them so that their life is a little bit multifaceted and they just love it. What advice do you give to emerging surgeons? And then Dr. Patel asks you the same question. You know, merging spine surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, or any physician leader.
- [15:24]
B
Yeah, I think what's really gratifying, at least for me, in medicine, is working, you know, with the med students, residents and fellows and then. And similarly in, you know, as an entrepreneur, it's, you know, working with the team that we, this amazing, brilliant team and really solving a problem that you see day in and day out. And so in spine surgery, we see the challenges of PJK with our deformity corrections, and we come up with studies and we try to understand it better, and we work and create a system of solving that problem. And here we've seen the consolidation of healthcare in general, but orthopedic practices, I mean, you know, you know, better than anyone, but, you know, orthopedic practices have decreased over, I think, 20% or so over the past eight years. It was, you know, around 7,300 practices in 2012. Last I read, it was, you know, under 5,800. And the reimbursement rate has dropped around 20% from 2020 to now in terms of inflation adjusted. And so, you know, that's a real problem for not only for the surgeons, but also for the patients that they take care of. And I think for us, you know, we want to solve that problem, and it allows us to use, you know, all of our sort of skill sets to do so. And so for, you know, folks who are evolving leaders, I think it's important to really look at, you know, the problems you face day in and day out and really try to think about new, innovative ways to solve that. And, you know, all of the credibility, intuition, conviction you get from being, you know, a real user, someone who lives through that is just impossible to replace. And so I think, I think that's what I would say to those folks who are thinking about it. You can do it, and you should focus on something that you not only live with day in, day out, but you're also passionate about. The other thing I would mention, you know, in terms of just being an entrepreneur is really, you know, staying close to the customer for as Long as possible. And I mean, you know, our early customers, I mean, we launched just in 2026, but our customers, you know, Neil meets with them, you know, and. And I meet with them, but he meets with them every week. They give us insight. We take that insight and iterate on our product. And we do that, you know, daily, weekly, consistently. And I think that meaningful insight we get really comes from all of the people around us who are using the product, both, you know, the clinics, but also the staff. And I think that's really helped us do something meaningful because you can do a lot of work and not get far. And by doing this, I think we've gotten very far.
- [18:30]
A
Truly remarkable. Dr. Seifi, any final comments or thoughts you wanted to share?
- [18:35]
B
Well, I think, you know, just moving off of that, you know, I think it's. It's important to be honest, I think, with what you know and what you don't know, both in medicine and in entrepreneurship. And so we fill those gaps with people who know more about those things. There are a lot of things in business that Dr. Patel and I don't know, and we've brought on folks who are just much smarter than us in those areas. And the other thing, I think, just as a general rule, and it's probably a general life rule, but also in entrepreneurship, is it's really important, I think, to just move past on, particularly on reversible decisions, but move slowly on irreversible ones. So that's kind of been our motto, and I think it's worked out really well. So those are some of the concepts, I think, that have been critical for our success, and I hope that that will help others.
- [19:28]
A
Let me ask you one final question, Dr. Safi. As long as we have you here, both of you are remarkably smart, articulate, humble, thoughtful, with that kind of humility. Do your orthopedic brethren ever give you a hard time saying that you're making them look bad by being so smart and humble?
- [19:50]
B
Well, we're not neurosurgeons, so I think we've got. Well, I should. No, I think we're surrounded by folks who are wonderful, and that's really been why we are where we are today. Both, I think our families, but also the orthopedic surgery community, and I think the culture of excellence that we've surrounded ourselves by. And I think the folks we work with are phenomenal, you know, both on the clinical side, but also on the entrepreneurial side. And so, you know, it makes our lives that much easier. I always give my neurosurgery colleagues a hard time about their God complex. But now they're, they're, they're great folks to work with. And we, I operate with them all the time, so. Right.
- [20:34]
A
And you, you would think that the, their neurosurgeons, they don't ever think of orthopedic surgeons as having a guided complex. It's just the neurosurgeons.
- [20:42]
B
Right. Yeah, that's, that's exactly what.
- [20:45]
A
Exactly. And gentlemen, what a total pleasure to visit with the two. You really enjoyed it. I really thank you for joining us on the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Again. You're joined by Dr. Kamran Safi and Dr. Neil Patel. Thank you, folks, so much for joining us. It was a real pleasure.
- [21:03]
B
Thank you, Scott.
- [21:04]
C
Yeah, thanks.