Shares of SoundHound AI fell over 5.5%, slipping to $5.89 as MUSC Health expanded its voice assistant, Emily, into pharmacy services. The move extends a system that has already processed more than 2.2 million patient calls since its launch earlier this year.
With this rollout, patients can request prescription refills, check the status of those refills, and get information about pharmacy locations and hours through natural language conversations. When a request is too complex, the system routes the call to pharmacy staff, ensuring patients still get personalized assistance.
Emily initially launched in 2024 to help manage appointments but quickly grew to cover broader patient access tasks. Now integrated with MUSC Health’s Epic system, the voice assistant creates a single point of contact for pharmacy-related inquiries, streamlining communications and reducing wait times.
SoundHound’s platform aims to reduce the burden on healthcare teams by handling routine queries through automation. This strategy helps address the rising pressures of increased call volumes and staff shortages seen across healthcare facilities. Despite automation, sensitive interactions still involve human specialists, maintaining both care quality and patient trust.
The successful integration into Epic marks an early use case of voice technology in that electronic health record environment, signaling a growing trend toward AI-driven patient support. As demands for faster, more accessible healthcare services rise, systems like Emily offer a glimpse into how AI can assist without replacing human interaction.
This content is informational and does not constitute financial advice.
