Clalit Health Services and Google are partnering to develop a conversational AI platform for Clalit’s 5 million patients. The digital assistant will offer personalized guidance throughout the healthcare journey, including help with patient intake, symptom triage, appointment preparation, and follow-up care. By collecting information before appointments, the system could also give medical teams more time to focus on patient care.
Key takeaways
- Google.org has awarded Clalit Health Services a two-year grant to develop an AI-powered healthcare assistant.
- The platform is planned to serve Clalit’s 5 million patients, with support for multiple languages and local dialects.
- Patients will be able to use voice tools for intake, symptom triage, appointment booking, and follow-up care.
Google’s philanthropic arm, has awarded Clalit Health Services a two-year grant to develop and launch an AI-powered “Digital Front Door.” Clalit is Israel’s largest healthcare organization. Its new assistant is designed to make healthcare services easier to access, particularly for people from communities that face language or technology barriers.
Built on Google Cloud’s secure infrastructure and AI technology, the multilingual platform will help patients understand their healthcare needs, prepare for appointments, and manage follow-up care in their preferred languages. It will also use voice-based tools, allowing Clalit to reach patients through devices they already have. This approach can help people who have limited internet access or don’t own a smartphone.
Addressing language and access barriers
Israel’s communities speak many languages and dialects, but traditional digital healthcare services often rely on formal written language. That can make online tasks difficult for people who primarily speak local dialects. Clalit reports that independent online appointment booking rates remain low.
To make these services easier to use, the platform will use large language models (LLMs), including Google Gemini, with speech recognition designed for local dialects and cultural differences. Patients will be able to complete intake and symptom triage and book appointments by speaking in the language they use in everyday life.
The system will also reach patients who lack internet access or use phones that can’t access standard web applications or SMS messages. Clalit plans to connect an interactive voice-based AI service directly to landlines and standard mobile phones. These options are intended to expand participation in digital services and increase appointment confirmations before visits.
Privacy and plans for broader use
Clalit says it uses a Zero Trust security framework and strict data privacy controls to protect patient information. Patient interactions with the AI assistant will be encrypted, stripped of personally identifiable information, and anonymized.
After an initial pilot, Clalit plans to expand the platform nationwide. The organization also plans to release its voice AI architecture and cultural adaptation frameworks as an open-source model for public healthcare systems. If made available as planned, the resources could help health organizations in other countries adapt similar tools for their own communities.
Clalit Director General Prof. Eytan Wirtheim said the organization’s diverse patient population is central to its work. He added that Google.org’s support and Google Cloud technology will help Clalit provide care in patients’ own languages and in ways that fit their needs. Wirtheim also said Clalit intends to make the model available to healthcare organizations around the world through an open-source architecture.
Google Cloud Israel Managing Director Boaz Maoz said conversational AI tailored to local dialects and different communication channels can help address barriers to healthcare access. He said Google Cloud will support the project with its infrastructure and help Clalit develop a model that other healthcare systems can adapt.
