It was midway through a 12-hour shift when the ER reached capacity. The call center had flagged nothing unusual. But in just two hours, the waiting room filled with cases that could have been handled in urgent care. Mild fevers, sprains, infections. Cases that didn’t need her but got routed to her anyway.
The real issue? No system to intercept them. No triage, no visibility into urgent care availability, and no digital front door to guide patients to the right place.
Every ER doctor has lived this moment. The frustration is systemic.
Urgency shouldn’t mean uncertainty.
From long hold times to inconsistent triage, urgent and ER care often leave patients overwhelmed and health systems burdened. Call centers become bottlenecks. Walk-ins flood waiting rooms. And patients seeking help are met with forms, delays, and friction.
At Steer Health, we believe there’s a better way. A smarter way. One that uses artificial intelligence not to replace staff, but to remove obstacles to care.
The Current Pain Points in Urgent & ER Care:
- Limited scheduling transparency: Patients don’t know where to go, or if a provider is available.
- Manual intake slows everything down: Front desk staff scramble to process insurance, paperwork, and patient details.
- High call volume cripples access: Patients face long wait times or simply hang up.
ERs absorb non-emergency cases: Due to lack of triage, patients head to the ER when urgent care would suffice.
AI-Driven ER an Urgent Care Access: From Reactive to Proactive
Imagine instead if patients could quickly access a digital system that asks a few brief questions, verifies availability in real time, and routes them to the appropriate care setting, whether that’s a same-day urgent care appointment or a prompt follow-up with a primary care provider. In cases that truly require emergency care, the system escalates appropriately.
That’s not a vision. That’s what Steer Health’s FastTrackCare delivers:
- SteerConnect acts as a digital front door, guiding patients to the right care based on urgency, symptoms, and real-time availability.
- FastTrack Pathways create dedicated, AI-powered entry points for urgent care needs, reducing wait times and unnecessary ER visits.
- Luna, our Voice AI agent, handles scheduling, FAQs, and appointment reminders with natural, human-like conversation.
- Steer Health supports day-of visit workflows such as check-in, eligibility verification, and payment collection. All before the patient even steps into the room.
Common Concerns About AI: How AI Can Empower Healthcare Responsibly and Why It Matters Now
Artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving into one of the most promising tools in healthcare—not only in diagnostics and documentation, but in how care is accessed, coordinated, and delivered.
AI tools are being piloted and implemented across hospitals to:
- Predict patient deterioration and intervene early
- Optimize staffing based on real-time demand
- Automate repetitive administrative work like prior authorizations and claims processing
- Improve diagnostic precision using AI-enhanced imaging
- Streamline patient communication and follow-up
At the same time, conversational models like MedPalm and SteerGPT are assisting with:
- Triage support through natural language understanding
- Simplified, patient-friendly education
- Faster and more accurate medical coding and documentation
When applied thoughtfully, AI doesn’t replace healthcare professionals. Instead, it enhances their ability to focus on what matters most: patients. But to achieve real impact, especially in urgent care, implementation must follow ethical and strategic principles.
The World Health Organization and leading academic centers have emphasized the need for:
- Human oversight in clinical decision-making
- Data privacy and consent
- Bias mitigation to ensure equitable outcomes
With the right guardrails, AI can lead to more equitable, efficient care systems. While many AI tools have been integrated into clinical workflows and back-office systems, the patient-facing layer—where access begins—is still fragmented, outdated, and full of friction. That’s the frontier where change is most needed and where Steer’s AI can make the greatest difference.
The Future Is Clearer Access
Urgent care doesn’t have to mean chaos. With the right technology in place, it can be precise, compassionate, and frictionless. For providers, it means smarter workflows. For patients, it means clarity when it matters most.
At Steer Health, we’re building that bridge from confusion to care, from delay to action. Hospitals and health systems using Steer have seen:
- 35% reduction in wait times
- 60–70% of calls handled by AI
- Higher patient satisfaction and retention
- Improved ER utilization rates
More than metrics, these outcomes represent something deeper: trust restored, care made accessible, and lives made easier.
Ready to redesign your urgent care experience?
Let’s talk.
