The Problem with Voice-Only AI in Healthcare
AI has earned its place in patient operations, especially when it comes to speed, consistency, and capturing the opportunities busy teams miss.
At Peerlogic, we’ve seen firsthand how AI can support the front office by recovering revenue, reducing staff burnout, and ensuring patients don’t fall through the cracks.
But we've also found this to be true: AI works best when it’s part of a broader strategy. One that values human oversight, and protects the patient experience. One that doesn’t stop at automation, but uses it to enhance relationships, not replace them.
Because in healthcare, speed without empathy isn’t service. It’s just noise.
AI is everywhere. Especially in patient communications.
But too many vendors are flooding the space with plug-and-play voice bots that miss the mark on one critical thing: the patient experience.
Because automation without intentionality doesn’t feel helpful. It feels hollow.
The Evidence Is Mounting: People Still Want People
A 2024 Fast Company survey found that customer satisfaction drops by over 30% when AI-only tools handle service interactions.
NICE’s benchmark report shows:
- 74% of healthcare patients value timely, personalized communication above all else
- 52% would leave a provider for better engagement
- The average response time across practices? Still lags well beyond what patients expect
AI may solve for speed—but without a human layer, it doesn’t solve for trust.
What Patients Actually Want
Let’s be clear: Patients aren’t anti-AI. They’re anti-bad experiences.
They want:
- To feel heard, not just responded to
- A follow-up that’s tailored, not templated
- Speed and accuracy
They’re fine talking to an AI—as long as it’s helpful, empathetic, and smart enough to know when to loop in a human.
The Real Issue: AI Without Oversight
Too many AI tools are being deployed without:
- Human review
- Healthcare-specific training
- Alignment with real workflows
What happens?
- Missed context
- Robotic interactions
- Frustrated patients
- Lost opportunities
That’s the risk when vendors promise AI as a replacement, not a reinforcement.
At Peerlogic, we think of AI differently.
We don’t believe AI should replace your front office.
We believe AI should catch what your team can’t. And make their jobs easier—not irrelevant.
Aimee (our AI) is designed to:
- Follow up on missed calls instantly
- Reference the original patient voicemail or context
- Log outcomes clearly in your dashboard
- And hand it off when nuance or clinical info is required
It’s not AI-only. It’s AI + your team, working in sync.
Why This Matters Now
Case in Point: The Power of Training + AI
In a recent collaboration with the Scheduling Institute, we helped practices see what happens when AI recovery meets trained, motivated teams. By aligning follow-up workflows with top-tier training, practices saw faster patient reactivation, better call handling, and real revenue impact.
The takeaway? Tools matter. But people matter more. Combine them, and you unlock the best of both worlds.
With staffing challenges continuing, practices are desperate for relief. But the answer isn’t to automate at all costs.
The answer is to automate strategically. To preserve quality while gaining speed. To reduce burden without losing connection.
In a space where every patient touchpoint matters, speed + empathy is the new gold standard.
AI is here to stay. But the future isn’t artificial vs. human. It’s both.
The practices that win will be the ones that build hybrid systems: smart, responsive, and deeply human.
At Peerlogic, we’re not just building AI. We’re building trust.
Want to see how? Book a quick walkthrough and get to know our patient-centered AI, Aimee. We promise: it feels different.
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The Reality: Pet Parents Don’t Wait
Today’s veterinary clients expect quick answers and frictionless scheduling. Multiple studies show:
- 24%–28% of all calls to the average veterinary clinic go unanswered—that’s as many as 1 out of every 4 potential appointments lost, especially during busy times or after hours.
- 85% of callers will not call back if you miss their call, and most won’t leave a voicemail—they’ll call a competitor instead.
- Most clinics rely heavily on phone calls: over 90% of appointments are still scheduled over the phone in many practices.
“Even two missed calls a day can mean 40 lost opportunities a month—and most are gone for good.”
The Hidden Cost of Missed Calls
The cost of even a single missed call adds up fast. Here’s what the numbers look like across real clinics:
- The average small business loses about $126,000 annually due to missed calls—not a small number.
- For each new client lost, the potential value can exceed $10,000 over the pet's lifetime, considering long-term and preventive care.
- Up to 60% of calls go unanswered during the busiest hours if staff are stretched thin.
- Clinics with inefficient phone systems miss out on over $100,000 of recoverable revenue every year—often a conservative estimate.
Pressure on Staff and Practice Reputation
- Staff shortage and multitasking make it almost impossible to answer every call—causing stress and missed connections.
- Missed calls undermine trust and satisfaction: Negative client experiences can damage reputation and result in poor online reviews.
- Nearly 80% of veterinary negligence cases have a communication element—a missed call or message can become a risk factor.
AI-Powered Call Recovery: A Fast Fix
Hiring more people isn’t always feasible, and traditional answering services can be costly and inconsistent. That’s why a growing number of clinics are turning to AI call recovery tools.
How AI Solutions Like “Aimee” Help
- Answer every call, 24/7—including lunch breaks, after hours, or staff busy moments.
- Follow up automatically: Proactively return missed calls and even convert voicemails into bookings, no staff action needed.
- Book in real time: AI assistants can access your scheduling software and confirm appointments on the spot, reducing the phone tag cycle.
- Improve efficiency: One clinic cut missed calls from 25% to under 2% and reduced admin training time by 80%, thanks to AI.
- High ROI: Many practices see an additional $100,000+ in recovered revenue per year, per location.
Results You Can Measure
- 60% reduction in missed calls after system upgrades or implementing AI.
- AI-driven clinics typically recover 20% more appointments and boost client satisfaction by 15%.
- Fewer no-shows: AI receptionists can minimize the “no-show” rate, preventing $50,000+ per year in wasted slots for an average veterinarian.
- Transparent data: Call analytics reveal when, why, and how calls are being missed, so practices can act quickly.
The Bottom Line
Your phones are still the #1 gateway to more appointments, happier clients, and a thriving business. But the cost of missed calls is steeper than most realize, impacting revenue, reputation, and staff wellbeing. AI-assisted solutions now give clinics a simple way to make sure every call is answered, every opportunity is captured, and every pet parent is cared for.
This ebook aims to help DSOs navigate portfolio expansion in 2025/2026 with confidence and data-driven insights. The global dental services market reached $457.5 billion in 2023 and is forecast to exceed $788.8 billion by 2033, growing at a 5.6% CAGR.
U.S. dental spend alone rose to $174 billion in 2023, up 2.5% from theprevious year.Cosmetic, preventive, and tech-enabled care are now essential growth drivers—not fringe services.Meanwhile, DSOs are absorbing more practices than ever. With scale comes complexity, and expectations of operational maturity.
Consolidation is up, but so is competition. Patients are acting more like empowered consumers than passive recipients. They have options, tools, and review platforms at their fingertips. They are not loyal by default.
DSOs must evolve from acquisition engines to experience-driven organizations.
Revenue growth will increasingly depend on your ability to:
- Deliver consistent patient journeys across every location
- Enable performance from the front desk to the executive suite
- Use automation to drive both efficiency and personalization
- Build a brand that earns loyalty, beyond price or proximity
Where will growth come from in 2025 and 2026? Download our e-book to find out.
The dental industry is consolidating, but market shifts are changing the rules for those rolling up practices looking to package and exit.
Consolidation now requires integration across a portfolio to drive the enterprise value needed to move that portfolio to a private equity sponsor.
Five years ago, an operator could get away with packaging up 25–50 practices and turning them over to PE to integrate and optimize. As is typically the case, PE learns that EBITDA growth is in the operations, and operations is hard, therefore shifting the onus to the operator to create value in the portfolio before entertaining the transaction.
Now, dental operators must be adept at integration across people, process, and technology. No small feat—but to make investors whole, it’s the only way.
As an institutional investor in B2B vertical SaaS, I see the dental industry going through a common tech consolidation cycle.
Core systems lead the charge, in this case, Practice Management Software (PMS) becomes the technology backbone of the practice. Then smaller tech solutions flood the market to fill the gaps in the core solution. The stack starts to bloat, raising costs and complexity.
As in other industries, the tech leaders in the space do a great job of influencing process in the form of “best practices.” The best of them build armies of raving fans (power users) who become the mouthpiece in the practice for the adoption of new solutions. That’s great for the software company—but not always for the business. When an operator decides to roll up practices, this problem compounds, as you now have conflicting opinions about the right solution moving forward.
The next phase is tech consolidation, which typically looks like a series of M&A transactions led by the system-of-record tech (PMS), trying to roll up smaller solutions into their platform to acquire customers, transition them to their core, and generate the perception of a fully integrated solution. There are varying degrees of success here. But the reality is, most companies are not going to acquire the best-of-breed solutions—those are expensive transactions. And just like the DSOs rolling up practices, tech companies are building enterprise value for their investors. The result is often a half-baked solution that isn’t much more than a customer grab.
So, what’s the solution?
First, look at best-of-breed solutions focused on delivering tangible ROI for your portfolio, those that facilitate the consolidation of people and process through a seamless technology experience.
Second, examine their partner ecosystem. The best companies create deep partnerships that bring together the best of the best across specialized use cases. These partnerships go beyond tech integration. They extend into go-to-market strategy, deploying a value-based model that highlights the levers they can pull in your portfolio, the outcomes of pulling them, and the roadmap to get there. These partnerships often lead to M&A transactions that create outsized outcomes for both stakeholders and customers.
DSOs are at a crossroads when it comes to delivering enterprise value to their investment partners. The only path forward is an integrated portfolio, built on solutions that drive revenue, production, and efficiency across the enterprise—setting the standard for people, process, and technology.
As an investor and operator in Peerlogic, our charge is to serve 1 million patients through our AI-first solutions and deliver $1 billion in incremental revenue for dental practices. We do this through a truly integrated, value-first solution—one focused on meeting the DSO market where they are: building integrated portfolios that deliver enterprise value at the next turn.
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