Fresh off an initial beta rollout this past May, MDConsult AI is officially launching its artificial intelligence (AI)-based pre-consultation platform to the U.S. commercial market.
Its target customer base: ophthalmology practices.
Let’s start with the basics: what is MDConsult AI?
Describing itself as an “AI-powered software for the modern physician,” the healthcare technology startup has developed a pre-consultation software platform designed for cataract and refractive surgery practices.
Its developers include two cataract and refractive surgeons as well as two ophthalmology industry executives:
- Gary Wortz, MD (co-manager)
- Joaquin De Rojas, MD
- Tamara Bogetti, MBA (co-manager; chief commercial officer)
- Ranna Jaraha (chief experience officer)
Its purpose: To solve the “broken” consultation process ophthalmic practices currently face in which patients lack proper education and preoperative knowledge—from information overload to decision paralysis and indecision.
How: By preparing patients ahead of their in-person surgical consultation.
Explain this, please.
The platform is essentially built on a “3D AI” architecture that’s digitally tailored to surgeons’ ophthalmic decision-making. This is part of a proprietary framework referred to as “deep directed discovery.”
What that means: During a 30-minute onboarding, surgeons can customize the system’s algorithms and clinical settings to align with their own approach to patient counseling.
- Among these specifications: Surgeons' clinical logic, lens preferences, and patient philosophy.
And when is the patient brought into the process?
Only after the platform is already operating on what the company calls “surgeon-validated, pre-contextualized intelligence,” in which the AI tool has developed an understanding of the patient’s needs and how that specific surgeon would counsel them.
For the patient: They’re educated on the types of packages a practice offers for a better grasp of the treatment options available as well as expectactions moving forward.
And once the actual patient-surgeon consultation begins, it’s “personalized to both the patient's clinical profile and the physician's practice style.”
Talk more about this reasoning.
"Patients today are being asked to make increasingly sophisticated lens and procedure decisions in less time than ever, with physicians under more reimbursement pressure than ever," stated Dr. Wortz. "We didn't want another generic chatbot layered on top of that problem.”
Per ConsultAI MD, the platform was built to address “converging pressures,” existing in today’s cataract and refractive surgery landscape, including:
- Rapid, complex innovation in the intraocular lens (IOL) market
- Declining physician reimbursement
- Shrinking consultation time
- Persistent gaps in patient education and understanding
- Growing demand to streamline the surgical consultation process without sacrificing quality of care
So, how has this worked in real-world practice?
The platform was most recently utilized in a beta cohort of 12 cataract and refractive practices (encompassing 550 patients) across the country.
The company noted this early deployment has “demonstrated measurable impact” on the insulation process itself—with major benefits for practices and their staff:
- Less chair time
- Better-educated, consultation-ready patients
- More streamlined consultation workflow
- Higher advanced-tech conversion rates (in some practices)
Click here for feedback from a few of these beta users.
So with this official launch, do we know pricing details?
Indeed we do. MDConsult AI is currently offering two monthly subscription plans:
The early adopter ($899 per month) and standard ($1,110 per month) packages both include:
- An unlimited number of patients
- Complimentary AI onboarding and customization
- Generation of HIPAA-compliant reports and transcripts
- Electronic medical record (EMR)-ready file delivery
Aside from pricing, the differentiator between the two: The early adopter plan also offers custom graphics for social media marketing.
For surgeons looking to learn more about adding this AI tool to their practice—click here.
And what’s the plan moving forward?
Following its beta cohort rollout, Bogetti shared that the platform has continued to add new surgeon and practice users.
Looking ahead: MDConsult AI intends to expand into additional areas of ophthalmology outside of the cataract surgery market— “and ultimately into other specialties of medicine where patient education is complex and practice efficiency demands are high.”
Stay tuned for more from this company …. including a potential on-site presence at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in the fall.