In 2025 the healthcare industry is experiencing a significant transformation, driven by rapid technological advancements that are fundamentally reshaping the delivery and management of healthcare.

AI adoption in this field has advanced significantly over the past few years, with many organizations moving beyond cautious experimentation to more deliberate efforts at large-scale integration.

With millions of venture capital dollars fueling startups focused on AI-driven solutions, it is evident that entities across the industry will rely on this technology to optimize workflows and enhance patient outcomes for years to come.

As the landscape evolves, AI agents are emerging as a key force in transforming the sector. Healthcare leaders are showing a growing interest in agentic AI, and experts anticipate its increasing role in shaping the future of care.

Key Takeaways

AI agents are transforming the healthcare industry by optimizing workflows and enhancing patient outcomes.

  • AI agents are becoming a key force in healthcare, driven by advancements in large language models and tool calling.
  • These agents are improving administrative tasks, clinical decision-making, and patient engagement.
  • Despite their benefits, ethical concerns such as bias, privacy, and accountability need to be addressed.

What is an AI agent

An artificial intelligence (AI) agent is a software program that operates autonomously. It collects data from its environment and uses it to complete tasks aligned with predefined goals. While humans establish the objectives, the AI agent determines the best course of action to achieve them.

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For instance, a contact center AI agent managing customer inquiries will ask targeted questions, search internal documents for relevant information, and provide responses. If it recognizes that a query requires human intervention, it will seamlessly escalate the issue to a representative.

How do AI agents work

AI agents are built on large language models (LLMs), which is why they are often called LLM agents. Traditional LLMs generate responses based on their training data but are limited by fixed knowledge and reasoning constraints.

Agentic technology expands these capabilities by integrating tool calling, allowing AI agents to access real-time information, streamline workflows, and autonomously break down complex tasks into manageable subtasks.

Through this process, the autonomous agent adapts, using past interactions to enhance personalization and responses.

Since tool calling functions without human intervention, it significantly broadens the real-world applications of AI systems.

These advanced tools, designed with the ability to both generate and act autonomously, are set to bring about a significant transformation in the way healthcare is both provided and overseen.

Artificial intelligence in health tech

AI agents are growing in importance within healthcare operations, offering a variety of benefits that could fundamentally alter the landscape of the industry.

According to insights from Red Cell Partners, a well-known investment and incubation firm, the medical field is expected to see a significant increase in the use of intelligent automation across various aspects of its operations in 2025.

These tools are not confined to handling administrative tasks alone; they are also set to play a pivotal role in clinical decision-making processes and in fostering more meaningful interactions with patients.

Benefits of using AI agents

As organizations increasingly incorporate AI agents into their workflows, their impact continues to grow leading to a range of advantages worth exploring.

Transforming administrative tasks

One of the most impactful applications of intelligent assistants is their ability to handle repetitive, time-consuming administrative tasks, allowing medical professionals to focus more on critical aspects of patient care.

Recently, Ushur, a leader in Customer Experience Automation (CXA), introduced its AI Agent for Member Service, marking a major step forward in leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance healthcare operations and member interactions.

This solution integrates advanced generative and agentic AI technologies to deliver fast, accurate, and empathetic responses to health plan members, significantly reducing response times and operational costs.

Beyond improving the overall experience for health plan members, this innovation also provides much-needed relief to customer support teams, which often struggle with high volumes of inquiries and tasks.

Enhancing clinical decision-making

In clinical decision-making, AI agents are increasingly making a substantial impact, playing a pivotal role in advancing the field.

BlueBriX, a digital health technology company, has introduced its Healthcare AI Agent Marketplace, a platform offering a diverse range of AI agents tailored to the specific needs of value-based care providers.

These advanced artificial intelligence tools are set up to automatically document medical records, summarize patient histories, and match symptoms with vast medical databases, thereby providing substantial support in both diagnosis and treatment planning.

Through their capability to process large volumes of patient information rapidly, AI assistants can assist clinicians in making timely and well-informed decisions.

Promoting patient engagement

When it comes to patient engagement, AI agents are increasingly showing their worth, contributing substantially to this critical aspect of healthcare.

According to Abhinav Shashank, CEO of the healthcare AI company Innovaccer, intelligent assistants can broaden preventive outreach initiatives, reaching beyond the highest-risk groups to a wider patient population.

Through their ability to engage a wider range of patients in a proactive fashion, these agents can facilitate earlier interventions and contribute to better health outcomes.

For instance, healthcare technology company Hippocratic AI has crafted disaster relief agents that are capable of contacting patients during emergencies and delivering them crucial information.

Future possibilities and challenges

Looking ahead, the integration of AI agents into healthcare presents both immense potential and significant challenges, offering groundbreaking advancements while also introducing complexities that must be carefully managed to fully harness their benefits.

Jeff Jones, Senior Vice President of Product Development at UPMC Enterprises, emphasizes the necessity of conducting rigorous testing and thorough validation processes to ensure that AI tools are not only effective but also consistently safe and reliable for use in medical settings.

It is imperative for the health sector to proactively address ethical concerns and strictly adhere to regulatory standards in order to establish trust, reassure patients, and promote confidence in the use of AI agents by their care providers.

Ethical concerns regarding AI agents

AI agents have sparked a host of ethical concerns as they become increasingly integrated into various facets of society. Here are some of the key issues that people are discussing:

• Bias: AI systems may reflect biases in their training data, leading to unfair outcomes.

• Privacy: Misuse of personal data and AI-driven surveillance can infringe on privacy.

• Accountability: Determining responsibility for AI errors is challenging due to the “black box” nature of AI, where complex algorithms and decision-making processes are not easily interpretable or transparent.

• Job displacement: Automation could replace jobs, requiring workforce adaptation.

• Misinformation: AI-generated fake content can spread false information.

• Autonomy: Balancing control over AI in critical applications, like military or healthcare, is essential.

• Environmental impact: AI development consumes significant energy, raising ecological concerns.

Conclusion

With the healthcare sector undergoing significant changes, AI agents are well-positioned to become a cornerstone in improving patient care, improving operational efficiency, and driving better clinical outcomes.

These intelligent tools are set to revolutionize the industry by streamlining administrative tasks, providing robust clinical decision support, and promoting deeper patient engagement—transformations that are only beginning to be fully realized.

As AI adoption accelerates, its potential to reshape healthcare is undeniable. However, achieving this transformation requires a careful balance between innovation and responsibility.

Ethical considerations, regulatory compliance, and rigorous validation processes must remain at the forefront to ensure intelligent systems operate safely, fairly, and effectively.

With thoughtful planning and a collaborative approach between healthcare providers and technology developers, AI agents have the power to drive meaningful progress, ultimately benefiting both medical professionals and the patients they serve.