How an AI agent handles new-patient intake at an ENT practice

A primary care office sees a child on her fourth ear infection of the winter, or a man who has turned the TV up again, and sends a referral. Sometimes that referral reaches your office before the patient calls. Sometimes the patient calls before your staff have entered it.

Hello Patient builds AI agents for healthcare. New-patient intake is one of the jobs the agents do. When a new ENT patient calls or texts, the agent asks why they are coming, which office they want, when they can come, and which plan they have. It finds or creates the patient record, books the visit straight into your schedule, and leaves a note on the appointment with what the patient said.

This page covers what happens from that first call or text through the first booked visit, and what your staff find in your system before the patient walks in.

When the referral and the patient arrive separately

If your staff have entered the patient, the agent finds that record and books from it. If they have not, the agent can start a new record from the information the patient gives it. Your practice's rules decide what can be booked before the referral is in.

The administrator of a two-office ENT and hearing practice hates having a call drag out for 24 hours. The patient often calls before the referral is in the system. The agent takes the information it needs, books the visit, and notes on the appointment who sent the patient.

Your staff receive the referral, enter it, and match it to the patient record. The page on how ENT practices answer every call covers referral follow-up separately.

What the agent asks a new ENT patient, and what it does with the answers

The agent first asks what the patient is coming in for, then uses your practice's rules to find the right visit type and provider. At an ENT practice, that answer sorts the visit into allergy, sinus, or hearing and determines which provider it gets booked with. It also asks which office the patient wants, when they can come, the details your scheduling system requires for the record, and which plan they have.

The agent finds the patient record or creates one if none exists. It tells the patient whether that plan is accepted at that office. Then it finds a real open time with a provider who does that visit type. It books straight into your schedule, so the time the patient hears is the time on your calendar.

After the booking, the agent leaves a note on the appointment with what the patient said, including who sent them, why they are coming, and the plan they named. If the patient asks a clinical question, the agent sends it to your clinical team with the patient's details. It does not give medical advice.

A man calls your main office because his primary care doctor is sending him for hearing loss, but the fax is not in yet. The agent collects the information needed for his record, tells him whether his plan is accepted at that office, and books a hearing evaluation. When the fax arrives, your staff match it to the record and booked visit.

Hear how a Hello Patient agent sounds.

The plan question is a different question for allergy, sinus, and hearing

The agent tells the patient whether the plan is accepted at that office. A plan your office accepts may cover the visit but not the allergy testing. It may cover the testing but not the immunotherapy, or the sinus procedure but not the hearing aid.

The agent puts what the patient said about their plan in the note on the appointment. The note also includes the coverage question the patient asked, so your billing team has it before the visit instead of at the counter.

A 23-year business administrator at a three-office ENT group in Texas put it this way: "You know that 4:55 PM call where someone wants to know if you take their insurance? We don't get to that until tomorrow morning."

With the agent on the line, that caller can hear whether the office accepts the plan and book the visit. When your team comes in the next morning, the visit is booked and the coverage question is on the appointment note.

The full picture of how the agent handles insurance questions is on the main intake page, how an AI agent runs patient intake.

Doesn't the ENT front desk already do this at check-in?

Yes, and your front desk handles check-in. By the time the patient walks in, your system has the record, the booked visit, and the note with the reason for the visit and the plan they named.

Your staff confirm the information in the record and take the insurance card at the desk. Questions about immunotherapy or a hearing aid can also be in front of the right person before the visit instead of first coming up at the counter.

The physician-owner of a Georgia practice with an allergy side wants the front office staff used in the office, on check-in and checkout, rather than answering phones. The people at the desk do intake face to face. The new-patient phone conversation can happen before the patient gets there.

What lands in your EHR when the agent runs intake: a record and a note, not a PDF

The agent creates a patient record in your EHR when one does not exist, then leaves a note on the appointment with what the patient said. It collects the fields your scheduling system requires for the new record.

The note includes things such as who sent the patient, why they are coming, and the plan they named. It is a note on the appointment, not a PDF summary attached to the chart.

The office administrator at that same Georgia practice asked for data going directly into EHR fields, not PDFs.

Hello Patient integrates with the EHR, practice management, and CRM systems healthcare already runs on.

Hello Patient is HIPAA-compliant, SOC 2 Type 2 certified, and signs a BAA with every client; the detail is on the HIPAA page.

What your staff start from before the first visit

When the referral arrives, your staff enter it and match it to the record the agent started.

At an ENT practice, coverage questions come up especially with immunotherapy and hearing aids. The agent's note tells your billing team which plan the patient named and what the patient asked, so they have a place to start.

Our main intake page, how an AI agent runs patient intake, covers new-patient intake beyond ENT.

The agent handles more of the new-patient conversation, including calls that come in while the front desk is busy with patients in the office.

What to ask a vendor about ENT intake

Ask four things and have the vendor show you what happens.

Does the agent tell the caller whether you take their plan at the office they are booking, and add the plan and the coverage question to the appointment note for your billing team? Ask to see how it works with your payer mix.

What happens when the patient calls before the referral is entered? The agent needs to create the record and book the visit on that call, with a note on the appointment your staff can match the referral to. Telling the patient to call back leaves the same work with your front desk.

Is the new patient created as a record in your system, or as a PDF attached to one? Ask to see the appointment open in your EHR, with the note on it.

What does it do with a caller who needs an ENT visit and a hearing test the same day? That's a scheduling question, and the ENT receptionist page goes into it.

Schedule 15 minutes with us to go through your new-patient calls, from the referral to the first visit. We're happy to spin up a custom demo agent for free as well.

Frequently asked questions

What does an AI agent do when a new patient calls an ENT office before their referral has been entered?

The agent starts the patient record and books the visit inside the scheduling rules your practice sets. Hello Patient's agent collects the reason for the visit, office, timing, plan, and the details your scheduling system needs. It creates the record before booking, so the visit is booked against that record. It leaves a note on the appointment with what the patient said, including who sent them. When the referral arrives, your staff enter it and match it to that record.

What does an AI agent do when a new ENT patient asks if their plan covers allergy testing or hearing aids?

The agent tells the patient whether your practice accepts their plan at the office they are booking, including when accepted-plan lists differ by office. Hello Patient's agent then collects the plan the patient named and their coverage question, and adds both to the note on the appointment. The same plan can cover the office visit and not the allergy testing, the immunotherapy, a sinus procedure, or a hearing aid, so your billing team has the question before the visit instead of at the counter.

Can an AI agent route a new ENT patient to allergy, sinus, or hearing based on the reason for the visit?

Yes. Hello Patient's agent asks what the patient is coming in for and follows your practice's rules for the visit type, provider, office, and schedule. It creates or finds the patient record before booking, then leaves a note on the appointment with the reason for the visit. The agent does not decide whether symptoms are allergies, a sinus problem, or something else. If the patient asks for clinical judgment, the conversation goes to a human on your staff. The agent never gives medical advice.

What happens when a new ENT patient asks for the doctor their referral named?

The agent books with that doctor when that doctor handles the visit type at that office and has an opening under your practice's rules. Hello Patient's agent reads that doctor's visit types and open times from your schedule. When that doctor cannot take the visit, it offers a provider who does that visit type. It books the visit straight into your schedule during the conversation. The appointment note records which doctor the patient asked for.

Does an AI agent put a new ENT patient into the EHR as a record, or as a PDF attached to one?

As a record. Hello Patient's agent creates the new patient in your EHR using the fields your scheduling system requires, then books the visit against that record. It leaves a note on the appointment with what the patient said, including why they are coming and the plan they named. The note is not a PDF summary attached to the chart. When the referral arrives, your staff match it to the record the agent created.

Can an AI agent run intake for a new ENT patient who texts instead of calling?

Yes. When a new patient texts your ENT practice, Hello Patient's agent asks what it asks on a call: why they are coming, which office they want, when they can come, and which plan they have. It finds or creates the patient record, tells the patient whether the plan is accepted at that office, and books the visit straight into your schedule, so the time in the text is the time on your calendar. It leaves a note on the appointment with what the patient said, and a clinical question goes to your clinical team with the patient's details.