HIMSS26 Ep#4 From Press 1 to Press Nothing - How Conversational AI Is Transforming the Healthcare

Healthcare call centers are still growing — even as patient portals improve. Patients call to confirm appointments they already know about, reschedule across multiple departments, and check on billing. They wait on hold. They get transferred. They hang up.In this episode of Health Reimagined, host Jon Myer (Powered by Myer Media) sits down with Jeff from SoundHound AI to unpack what agentic AI actually means for healthcare, why voice is the future of the patient experience, and how health systems are using conversational AI to handle complex multi-step tasks — without a single hold time or transfer.🔗 Learn more at soundhound.comTopics covered:Why healthcare call centers keep growing no matter how good patient portals getThe difference between old IVR systems and modern agentic voice AIWhat the first wave of healthcare chatbots got wrong — and what the industry learnedSoundHound's streaming voice recognition engine and real-time word processingThe hybrid model — deterministic authentication plus free-flowing agentic AIHow one call can now handle scheduling, billing, and IT support without transfersCall center attrition rates of 25 to 35% and how AI solves the staffing problemPractical advice for healthcare organizations taking their first step into agentic AIStarter packs — highest volume lowest complexity use cases first for fast ROIWhat makes a healthcare-specific agentic voice platform different from wrapping an LLM⏱️ YouTube Timeline0:00 — Introduction — Agentic AI is no longer just answering questions it is taking action0:32 — Meet Jeff from SoundHound AI at HIMSS0:34 — Where the real AI opportunity sits in healthcare — the call center1:22 — Why patients still pick up the phone even with patient portals2:29 — The shift in trust — from skepticism to expecting a digital agent to answer3:32 — After hours calls multilingual support and not waiting on hold3:57 — How agentic AI handled an earlier appointment without a single hold4:23 — Rescheduling to the day after St. Patrick's Day — natural language in action4:53 — What the first wave of healthcare AI got wrong — chatbots IVR and basic automation5:46 — The move from scripted flows to continuous natural conversation6:08 — One call for scheduling billing and IT without transfers or reauthentication7:39 — Streaming voice recognition — processing each word in real time like a human8:34 — SoundHound's background in restaurants and drive-throughs and why it matters for healthcare9:01 — Where voice fits in the broader healthcare landscape and why vendor sprawl is a problem10:11 — IVR vs agentic AI — MapQuest directions vs Waze navigation11:04 — The hybrid model — deterministic authentication plus free-flowing agentic conversation11:28 — Security identity verification and giving the right patient the right information12:09 — The biggest pain points in healthcare call centers — attrition wait times and growth13:10 — Practical advice for healthcare organizations taking their first step into agentic AI13:57 — Starter packs — highest volume lowest complexity use cases for fast provable ROI14:47 — What makes a healthcare-specific voice AI platform different from just wrapping an LLM16:11 — Measurable KPIs containment rates and proving value year over year🔔 Don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification 🔔 ✔ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/jonmyer/?sub_confirmation=1📱 Social Media Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JonMyerWebsite: https://jonmyer.comLinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-myer/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0wjJzdIwctq4o4pTXM2KSFLike my sounds? Here's my audio source: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/fj9o9k#aws #awscloud #podcast #podcasting #costoptimization #finops #cloudcost #cloudoptimization