Healthcare systems worldwide are grappling with two major challenges—workforce shortages and increasing patient needs.
According to the World Health Organization, there will be a global shortfall of 10 million healthcare workers by 2030, especially in low and lower-middle-class nations. This will worsen the existing inequities in access to care.
Hippocratic AI is here to help. This innovative health-tech startup is developing an AI to assist healthcare workers. It focuses on routine tasks so doctors and nurses can focus on the more complex and critical aspects of care.
Read on to find out how.
What is Hippocratic AI?
Hippocratic AI is a health-tech startup using AI to make healthcare safer and more accessible. It is the first safety-focused large language model (LLM) for healthcare.
Hippocratic AI focuses on taking care of routine tasks (non-diagnostic, patient-facing roles) like managing chronic conditions, educating patients, and offering nutrition advice.
Unlike other AI systems, it focuses entirely on patient safety and works alongside healthcare professionals, not as a replacement.
Hippocratic AI takes care of day-to-day responsibilities so patients can get timely care while giving doctors more time to focus on complex medical decisions.
It alleviates the burden on healthcare providers while maintaining high safety standards.
What sets Hippocratic AI apart?
Hippocratic AI’s core values set it apart from traditional LLMs. They are:
A safety-first approach
What makes Hippocratic AI stand out is its safety-first philosophy. It’s built around the idea of “Do No Harm,” the same principle doctors follow in their practice (Hippocratic Oath).
The AI is rigorously tested by over 4,500 licensed U.S. nurses and physicians to make sure it performs well in real-world situations. It is designed to achieve a level of safety that surpasses human performance in specific, clearly defined tasks.
Healthcare-specific design
Unlike general-purpose models like GPT or Bard, Hippocratic AI is specifically tailored for healthcare. It prioritises:
- Accuracy: Provide precise, up-to-date information on medical conditions, lab results, and medications.
- Empathy: Understand, address and respond to patient concerns with sensitivity.
- Specialised Intelligence: Help manage chronic health conditions and support patients in adhering to their prescribed treatments and medications.
Scalable solutions for workforce gaps
Hippocratic AI addresses the global healthcare worker shortage by automating routine yet critical interactions. It automates routine tasks, such as sending follow-up reminders or answering questions about medications.
This enables healthcare organisations to expand their reach and deliver high-quality care to underserved populations.
In short, Hippocratic AI doesn’t diagnose diseases—it supports the healthcare team by managing essential but repetitive tasks. This frees up clinicians to focus on complex medical decisions.
Advanced capabilities of Hippocratic AI
Hippocratic AI goes beyond basic chatbot functionalities. Its advanced capabilities include:
Lab and medication guidance
The AI provides detailed insights into lab results. It highlights longitudinal trends and potential interactions between medications and lab values.
Personalised nutrition advice
It offers tailored dietary recommendations based on individual health profiles. It also includes guidance on restaurant menus for those with dietary restrictions.
Human escalation protocols
The AI employs a three-stage process to escalate serious symptoms to live nurses or physicians. This ensures critical issues receive immediate human attention.
How Hippocratic AI ensures safety?
Safety is embedded in every aspect of Hippocratic AI’s design. The model undergoes comprehensive testing to ensure reliability and accuracy. Unlike traditional AI systems that rely solely on training data, Hippocratic AI incorporates the following:
- Expert validation: Input from licensed healthcare professionals during both the training and testing phases.
- Continuous monitoring: Real-time assessments to identify and rectify potential errors.
- Transparent decision-making: Clear explanations for every recommendation, fostering trust among patients and clinicians.
Backed by strong financial and strategic partnerships
The startup was established in 2023 by Munjal Shah and a team of experts from Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and Google. Since then, its potential has garnered significant investor confidence.
Hippocratic AI has raised $137 million, including $53 million in Series A funding. Its key investors include NVIDIA, General Catalyst, and Andreessen Horowitz, all of whom recognise the transformative impact of safety-focused AI in healthcare.
Real-world applications and success stories
In practice, Hippocratic AI is already making a tangible impact across various healthcare scenarios. One compelling example shared on Hippocratic AI’s official website highlights how their AI agent prevented a potential hypertensive crisis:
A 78-year-old woman received a call from Hippocratic AI’s agent after her recent physician visit showed elevated blood pressure without subsequent follow-up.
Guided by the AI agent, she measured her blood pressure at home, revealing a reading of 208/103 mmHg—a profoundly elevated level. Although she reported no symptoms of a hypertensive emergency, the AI immediately escalated the situation to a human triage nurse, ensuring timely intervention.
This proactive outreach addressed a critical care gap. It also demonstrated how AI can prevent serious health problems and work alongside doctors to keep patients safe.
Looking ahead
The healthcare sector is at a crossroads. Traditional approaches are no longer sufficient to meet the demands of modern patient care. Hippocratic AI offers a glimpse into a future where technology and humanity work in harmony.
If it becomes successful in delivering care that’s effective and deeply compassionate, it can set a new standard for what AI can achieve in serving human health.
By Rinkle Dudhani and the AHT Team
