Practices bet on AI to unclog scheduling, phones and prior authorizations

Medical practices are leaning harder into automation and artificial intelligence to relieve front-office strain and improve patient access, with scheduling and phone workflows topping leaders’ wish lists, according to an MGMA Stat report on how practices are deploying and struggling to deploy AI at the “digital front door.”

In an MGMA Stat poll of 177 applicable respondents cited in “Automatic for the people: AI moves for medical practices to boost the front office and access”, 31% of practice leaders said scheduling is the top area they want to automate with AI, followed by calls (27%), registration and eligibility (23%), and prior authorization (16%).

The MGMA Stat article, by senior editor Chris Harrop, frames the front office as a high-volume bottleneck where overloaded phones, constant rescheduling, repeated insurance checks and time-consuming prior auth follow-ups can combine into reduced access. MGMA’s takeaway in the report is that the goal is not a shiny tool. It is removing friction from the everyday tasks that keep patients from getting in the door.

Scheduling ranks first because it sits at the center of capacity. MGMA notes practices are looking beyond basic self-scheduling to functions that backfill canceled slots, manage waitlists and keep templates consistent across sites and providers, as described in the MGMA Stat report.

Phones and call handling are close behind. Practices told MGMA they want automation that routes calls, converts voicemails into actionable tasks, and reduces repetitive call volume, while preserving a clear path to a human for complex issues, another theme highlighted in the article.

For registration and eligibility, MGMA points to automating verification and pushing exceptions into work queues rather than dumping surprises on the front desk, as outlined in the report. For prior authorization, MGMA ties automation interest to the scale of administrative work. In an earlier MGMA regulatory burden report cited in the piece, 92% of surveyed medical group practices said they hired or reassigned staff solely to manage prior authorizations, according to MGMA Stat.

MGMA also cautions that adoption is not automatic. Even when practices offer self-scheduling, patients may not use it. MGMA cites a July 2025 poll showing 71% of practices reporting that fewer than 25% of patients use digital tools to self-schedule, a sign that access gains may require workflow redesign and patient-facing engagement, as discussed in the MGMA Stat report. Governance remains a gap too. MGMA reported that 42% of leaders said their organization has AI governance or a formal AI-use policy, or is developing one, according to “AI governance in medical group practices”.

Quick wins to improve access before you scale AI

• Clean up scheduling rules before you automate. If your appointment types, durations and templates are inconsistent, AI will just spread the inconsistency faster. See Physicians Practice’s look at AI-driven scheduling.
• Use texting to reduce inbound calls and close care gaps. Text outreach can drive follow-through on preventive services and reduce phone traffic when it includes clear, patient-friendly prompts. See How practices are closing gaps in care with text messaging.
• Start with small automations that protect staff time. Front-office wins often come from eliminating repetitive, time-consuming tasks first, the kind of workflow improvement that can stabilize staffing and patient experience. See How automation can protect small healthcare practices during economic uncertainty.
• Be realistic about what AI can and can’t do today. Generative AI is often most valuable when it helps internal experts move faster and more accurately, not when it replaces the human parts of care and communication. See The best use cases for generative AI in health care.