Clinicians’ input ensured that the final product, named Provaria, would actually improve their workflow, Parsons says.
“We talk all the time about caregivers working at the top of their license. We don’t want doctors answering questions about what time the clinic is open, and we don’t want medical assistants recommending medications,” Parsons says. “These categories allow caregivers to self-select the messages they’re uniquely qualified to respond to.”
Provaria empowers nurses and medical assistants to handle more messages independently without needing doctors’ input. It’s also decreased the response time for symptom-related messages by nearly half.
“Nurses are able to find those needles in the haystack and handle them right away,” Parsons says. “Now, we can call those patients to say, ‘We’ve got an opening this afternoon. Do you want to come in?’”
Alongside messages, Provaria also provides category-specific workflow guidance that draws from a relevant clinical knowledge base. In the past, users would have had to track down that documentation, so Provaria saves time while reinforcing best practices.
One unexpected benefit is greater peace of mind for caregivers, who no longer worry about missing urgent messages, Parsons says. For him, that’s just one way AI and other technologies can support clinicians.
“Our doctors and nurses are best at providing empathetic care at the bedside,” Parsons says. “I want to empower them to do what comes naturally to them by using AI to sort out all this other stuff.”
Heartland Dental Turns to the Cloud
Heartland Dental, a national dental support organization, has built its data strategy around cloud solutions, including a strategic pairing of SAP and Google Cloud, says Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Robert Jerome. In addition to helping dentists establish their practices, the Effingham, Ill.-headquartered organization provides data insights to help it optimize operations.
Since 2018, cloud-based tools have enabled the organization to deepen that support; for example, by scaling analytics capabilities through SAP’s Business Technology Platform, using Google Cloud’s BigQuery analytics platform and building generative AI tools with Google Vertex AI.
“When Google started deepening its partnership with SAP, our perspective was that this is going to be stronger together,” Jerome says. “Google doesn’t replace SAP; it complements it.”
As a technology leader, working within the cloud gives Jerome speed and agility without compromising cybersecurity. The cloud also provides the computing power and the tools for Heartland Dental to develop custom AI applications. One of the most effective initiatives used Google’s Gemini Pro and Vertex AI to develop an AI chat agent for supported dental practices’ business assistants.
EXPLORE: These are the four cloud tech trends to watch in 2026.
BAs are front-office staffers who are often new to dentistry, so there’s a steep learning curve to their role. In the past, when BAs had questions about a workflow, they had to sort through lengthy playbooks and operations manuals to find the information they needed, Jerome says.
Now, they simply ask the chat agent. “Anything related to accounts receivable or operations, they just ask, and it gives them the answer,” he says. “If you’re new to the job, that’s huge.”
The AI agent is integrated into Heartbeat Engage, an SAP platform that consolidates dozens of applications in a single interface. The platform automates BAs’ work queues and streamlines day-to-day tasks by making it easy to access critical resources, Jerome says.
“The office staff love it because everything’s in one place,” he says.
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