How Allina Health reimagined patient access with AI — and got its best service metrics in years

When your contact center handles 20 million patient interactions a year, every second counts.
Every delay ripples downstream — affecting care access, clinical teams, and patient trust.

That’s exactly what Allina Health was up against. IVRs were frustrating patients. Staff members were maxed out. Wait times were climbing, and there was no room (or budget) to grow headcount.

So they tried something new.
They introduced an AI agent named Alli.

Not just a voice, but a virtual teammate

Alli is more than a voice interface. She’s a frontline force multiplier, rescheduling appointments, verifying IDs, routing calls, and supporting patients with empathy and precision.

Built on SoundHound's platform and integrated with Epic, Alli launched fast in 90 days. And made an even faster impact:

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23% | improvement in service levels
48sec | shaved off average response time
80% | of calls answered in under 45 seconds
Zero | added staff
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Less friction, more focus

By taking on routine requests, Alli gives human agents space to handle the hard stuff — the emotional, complex, judgment-heavy conversations that only people should navigate.

She doesn’t just free up time. She redefines how that time is spent.

Saving 5 seconds per call adds up to 8,000+ hours a year.
That’s not just efficiency. That's better care access system-wide.

“AI in healthcare must be human-centered, secure, and scalable. Alli checks all three boxes.”

Dr. Ingham
Chief Digital and Information Officer, Allina Health

Built fast. Built right. Built to scale.

Allina Health defied the typical healthcare tech rollout timeline. Alli was live in under 90 days thanks to:

• Cross-functional buy-in from ops, IT, and digital leaders
• Epic integration from day one
• Smart authentication and voice recognition baked in
• Governance protocols to keep everything compliant and safe

And this is just the beginning. Alli is expanding to handle prescription refills, pre-op triage, weather-triggered changes, and more.

AI in healthcare doesn’t have to be cold

Allina’s story proves that AI agents don’t replace people — they empower them.
They create time, reduce burnout, and give patients faster, smoother access to the care they need.

“We didn’t just digitize access — we humanized it with AI," adds Dr. Ingham.

Want the full story — including implementation strategy, security protocols, and next-gen roadmap? Read the full case study.