Nextech partners with Assort Health and EliseAI to bring agentic AI to patient access
Industry News · Healthcare · October 12, 2026
An agent that answers every call and books the visit turns patient access into the first step of growth
Nextech announced on October 9, 2026 that it partners with Assort Health and EliseAI. Both companies make AI agents for patient access. Specialty practices that use Nextech can choose either platform. The agents connect to the Nextech workflows for scheduling, intake, readiness and patient communication.
Nextech makes software for specialty practices in ophthalmology, dermatology, orthopedics, plastic surgery and med spas. The goal of the partnerships is patient access 24 hours a day, also when the office is closed. Nextech shows the partnerships at AAO 2026, the meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, in New Orleans from October 10 to 12.
Assort Health handles scheduling, intake, referrals, forms, medication refills and payments. Assort reports a 5% increase in appointment volume and a 79% conversion from referral to appointment. It also reports up to $4.3 million in captured revenue for each 100 providers.
EliseAI automates the patient journey from the first inbound call to the follow-up. This includes referrals, insurance checks and chart preparation. EliseAI says that it handles more than 20 million conversations each month. All figures in this story come from the companies.
Minna Song, co-founder and CEO of EliseAI, said: “Every unanswered call is a patient who might book somewhere else or miss care they need.” Rusty Frantz, CEO of Nextech, said that every practice looks for ways to improve patient access and to relieve pressure on its teams.
The takeaway
In a service business, the first response is the step that converts. An agent can answer each inquiry at once, at any hour. When it books the visit in the system of record, it keeps demand that a busy front desk loses.
Why it matters for agent-led growth
- Measure the leak first. Count the calls and web inquiries that get no answer today. That number shows the size of the opportunity for an access agent.
- Connect the agent to the booking system. Nextech chose partners that did joint engineering on its scheduling and intake tools. An agent that cannot write to the calendar can only take messages.
- Track conversion to a booked visit. Assort reports a 79% conversion from referral to appointment. Ask each agent vendor for a result metric of this type, not a count of conversations.
- Expect core platforms to choose agent partners. Nextech offers two vetted partners with multi-year commitments. In many markets, the core software vendor decides which agents its customers can connect easily.
[…] Nextech partners with Assort Health and EliseAI to bring agentic AI to patient access […]