When patients do not show up for their scheduled colonoscopy, phone calls from an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of fluent conversation can help encourage them to complete the procedure, researchers at a large inner-city hospital reported on Thursday at the ASCO press briefing.
The study at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York tested “MyEleanor,” a virtual patient navigator that called patients to discuss rescheduling, assess barriers to going through with the procedure, offer live transfers to clinical staff to reschedule, and provide procedure preparation reminder calls.
In 2022 and 2023, MyEleanor called 2,400 people who had either canceled or did not show up for a scheduled colonoscopy appointment. Overall, 41% were Hispanic and 33% were Black; 73% spoke English 25% spoke Spanish, and 32% were unemployed.
During the study, 57% of people engaged with MyEleanor for an average of 6.5 minutes each. More than half of them agreed to be transferred to a human who would reschedule their procedure. The rate of completed colonoscopies for people who did not show up for their initial appointment nearly doubled from 10% to 19%, and patient volume increased by 36%.
“We understand things can get in the way of getting screenings like this, and we would like to learn more so we can better assist you,” MyEleanor said during the conversation. “I’d like to ask you a few questions about what stopped you from coming to your appointment... Is that ok with you?”
Over 50% of participants told MyEleanor of at least two barriers to screening, including transportation (38%), lack of perceived need (36%), time (36%), absence of physician prompting (33%), medical mistrust (32%), concerns about findings from the screening (28%), and cost (27%).
The authors are now examining the potential for MyEleanor to assist with the screenings for lung and breast cancer.