How AI is Transforming Patient Engagement: Jeff Taylor on The Beat Podcast (Powered by HLTH)

Ever wondered how AI can tackle inefficiencies in healthcare while empowering patients at every step of their journey? Recently, Orbita CEO Jeff Taylor sat down with host Sandy Vance on The Beat Podcast to discuss the growing role of AI in patient engagement. They covered everything from automating routine workflows and reducing costly no-show rates to ensuring that new technology genuinely improves both patient experiences and clinical outcomes. 

You can listen here: 

Below is the full transcript (lightly edited for readability) so you can dive into their conversation and discover how Orbita is helping health systems navigate the complexities of AI.

Sandy Vance (SV): You are listening to The Beat Podcast series on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. I’m your host, Sandy Vance, and whether you are a healthcare leader, a founder, or an investor, I invite you to join me weekly here on The Beat as we explore how AI tools are impacting healthcare. Buckle up—there’s a lot to learn from these industry forerunners who are using AI to change the face of healthcare. Welcome back! Today, our guest is Orbita and their CEO, Jeff Taylor. Welcome to the show, Jeff.

Jeff Taylor (JT): Hey, thank you so much. Appreciate you having me on.

SV: Yeah. You’ve been in healthcare for over 20 years, in health IT and dealing with business solutions. You’re working on driving growth and operational excellence for your company. Tell us a little bit about Orbita.

JT: Yes. We’re a leader in patient engagement. We leverage cutting-edge AI technology to enhance the patient experience. Our unique platform really empowers healthcare providers by creating more efficiency, reducing costs, improving patient access and communication—all of which lead to better outcomes for patients, better engagement, and significant cost reduction and efficiency gains for health systems. We do that through a few different solutions, and we’ve been doing this for quite some time. We’ve done a great job in the healthcare space and partnered with many different health systems.

SV: So what’s the primary use case for your product?

JT: I think of it really as a patient user interface. I was in a coffee shop not too long ago, listening to people complain, “I feel like I’m just a number. I can’t get information. Every time I call, I don’t get who I need.” Our solution is a user interface through a digital front door, plus patient access, scheduling, and care navigation tools that help patients follow their care with their provider. They can ask questions through conversational AI and get information based on what the provider wants them to have—forms to keep them engaged and empowered during their healthcare journey.

Really, the use case is: How do we get patients to feel empowered and completely engaged in their own healthcare? Clinicians know that when patients have information at their fingertips, they have better outcomes, fewer problems, and there’s less staff burden because patients feel they have what they need. That sense of comfort and peace is crucial.

SV: Digital front doors are a relatively new concept, right? Maybe the last three or five years? How has it trended and evolved in the last couple of years?

JT: It’s interesting because we’ve seen a boom—tons of digital front doors out there. In and of itself, it’s not that unusual anymore. Where Orbita differs is that we combine patient access and acquisition tools—like CRMs for health systems to manage volume—and care navigation, which helps patients understand their total needs, including educational videos and checklists. We unify all three in one seamless solution.

A lot of companies offer just that initial chatbot—maybe you go to a website, it pops up, and people sometimes find it annoying. But that’s just the initial contact. We don’t leave the patient at the front door. We guide them to the right place: Do they need a telemedicine visit, is it an emergency, or can they schedule an in-person appointment? Then we continue following them once they’re in the system instead of leaving them at the digital front door.

SV: It interacts with the EHR too, so that as they’re getting care, it knows the next step. Is that the premise?

JT: That’s accurate. Part of it is working with the healthcare system to understand their workflows and needs, including insurance pre-authorizations and administrative forms. For instance, a patient might schedule a visit through our chatbot, and that goes right into the EHR. They can pick from a list of providers based on how the health system sets it up. Once the visit is scheduled, a worklist comes up with tasks to complete before the visit. That means less administrative work. Patients can check off what they’ve done. Some patients worry, “Have I done everything?” Now they can see they’ve completed all steps.

We also send reminders through voice, text, or email to ensure the patient knows where to be and when. The system lets them ask questions via conversational AI, like “Is this procedure going to hurt?” It can answer that and link them to more information. That education also helps the clinician.

SV: Amazing. How many health systems are you guys in across the country?

JT: We have 39 different customers. One of the beautiful things about our platform is that it wasn’t built to solve just one problem—it has a lot of variability. Some pharma companies use our AI platform for their needs, which speaks to the flexibility. So, yes, we’re in many different health systems and practices.

SV: What are the biggest operational challenges you see? What are your quick wins when you go into an organization?

JT: The quick wins... When dealing with IT departments, there are so many burdens and requests. I often ask, “Where do you need a quick win? Which practice needs a quick win?” There’s no shortage of projects, only a shortage of time, money, and resources. I call it TEAM—time, energy, attention, and money—and where you spend that is where you get results.

A key issue is how to get a quick win without disrupting the whole system. We suggest picking a practice or two first rather than rolling out enterprise-wide. That way, you see if it works with minimal disruption.

SV: How do you measure that? What metrics do you use to show back the operational efficiency?

JT: We have a full data analytics platform to determine best practices. Some quick wins include a 30% to 35% reduction in staff time spent on patient communication—checking insurance, blood work, or prescriptions can all be automated. We also see a 53% reduction in no-shows, which boosts revenue. No-shows are expensive for a lot of reasons.

Another area is the time it takes for pre-procedure prep. If you can automate that in a way that doesn’t feel sterile—using AI that recognizes the individual—it helps outcomes too. We can also run patient campaigns, almost like a CRM, sending out messages like, “How are you doing?” If patients respond, we can funnel them into appointments and boost volume.

Referral leakage is another big one. We track referrals from the ER that might get lost. Maybe 63 referrals come in, but only 30% become visits. We can show that data, and eventually we aim to aggregate data across many health systems to deliver best practices.

SV: How do you think the proliferation of AI in various applications will impact your tooling, or healthcare tooling in general?

JT: AI is a huge topic, and definitions vary: machine learning, generative AI, conversational AI, voice/ambient hearing. It’s all changing constantly. Then there’s the question of security—how do we keep it safe and communicate that safety to people who don’t understand AI and might be scared of it? Education is key, and it’s needed for all of us.

We focus on conversational and generative AI for learning about and engaging patients. We’re not using AI to direct care; other groups do that. We use AI on the analytics side to better understand information. Our product roadmap has no shortage of ideas, but we have to decide where to invest resources. CIOs do the same—limited resources, and they need the greatest impact.

SV: Right, deciding where to spend your time and energy—TEAM.

JT: Exactly. The litmus test is: Does it increase patient engagement, help outcomes, create efficiencies, integrate easily, and save money? That’s a lot, but CIOs need all of that. Every vendor at ViVE should communicate ROI.

SV: Absolutely. They can’t leave it up to guessing. They need to know ROI is there.

JT: One approach we offer is doing a small pilot in a practice, not a massive enterprise change. We do it at a reduced cost to prove it works. Then you’ll ask how to expand. Instead of conquering the entire organization, we go step by step. You think of the time and effort it takes to implement EHRs; you need to know who to trust. Who won’t disrupt everything?

SV: How should folks get in touch with Orbita, and do you have any parting thoughts?

JT: Visit us at orbita.ai or find us on LinkedIn. You can find me on LinkedIn too. We want to overcome barriers so health systems can better prioritize their investments. It’s about patient care—health systems have a responsibility to their communities. Our goal is to partner with them so we can build healthier communities together.

SV: Thanks so much for your time today, Jeff. We really appreciate having you on the show.

JT: I appreciate it. Thanks for the time. Look forward to seeing you again.

Have thoughts or questions about AI in healthcare? We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to learn more about how Orbita is transforming patient engagement.