“Tom Rosenblatt is right that artificial intelligence can give primary-care physicians a fuller view of a patient's history ("Want Concierge Medicine? AI Can Deliver It," Aug. 15). But information is only half of concierge care. AI may improve what happens during an appointment; operations management determines whether the appointment happens at all.
St. Thomas Community Health Center in New Orleans, which serves uninsured and Medicaid patients, redesigned its scheduling and allocation of existing resources. It began satisfying 80% to 90% of same-day appointment requests. Patient satisfaction with access reached 97% and the number of patients treated rose 25%, while the center improved its financial performance.
AI could make such access even more clinically valuable. But it shouldn't become a technological answer to an operational problem. Before investing in AI-enabled "concierge" care, health systems should determine whether their existing clinicians, staff and appointment slots are organized around patient demand. Concierge-level access for ordinary -- and underserved -- Americans is possible now.
Eugene Litvak
President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Optimization
Lexington, Mass.” [1]
1. AI Can't Fix a Bad Calendar. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 22 Aug 2026: A12.
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