Google Cloud gave some updates on how it uses its Gemini and Vertex AI models to power health workers, just before the HIMSS Conference next week in Las Vegas.
The tech giant is partnering with a number of healthcare organizations to apply AI in everything from claims processing to patient engagement. Here are five of the efforts highlighted by Google Cloud this week:
CVS
Google Cloud has partnered with CVS Health create a new platform aimed at improving the way people interact with their healthcare. The platform, called Health100, will use AI to provide consumers with real-time guidance on accessing care and sticking to their healthcare plan.
It is designed to help people better manage their appointments and medications, understand costs and more easily navigate the healthcare system. It will be available to all consumers, regardless of their pharmacy, healthcare provider or coverage status.
Google Cloud provides the technology backbone of the new platform, and CVS uses its network of pharmacies and clinics to make healthcare advice more personal and actionable.
Human
Human and Google Cloud are working together to deploy an AI tool that helps customer service representatives support members more effectively. The product, called Agent Assist, is designed to provide real-time assistance during calls to members by summarizing conversations and surfacing relevant benefits information.
The goal is to reduce administrative work for Humana staff so they can focus on providing clearer, more personalized support to members with more complex needs.
Cutting-edge health
Google Cloud shared the results of its work with a Pittsburgh-based company Cutting-edge health to extend the use of generative AI to all of its staff. Highmark built its in-house AI assistant, Sidekick, using Google Cloud tools, and the platform grew quickly: from around 1 million interactions to over 6 million prompts in about a year.
The assistant now supports a variety of use cases for employees on both the payer and provider side of Highmark’s operations, such as helping employees analyze data, draft documents, and automate administrative tasks.
Highmark said its use of Sidekick generated nearly $28 million in value last year through productivity gains and improved efficiency.
Quest Diagnosis
Quest Diagnosis has partnered with Google Cloud to help patients better understand their lab results. The companies developed an AI-powered generative chat feature in the Quest app, which explains lab results in simple language and allows patients to ask questions about their biomarkers and health trends.
This feature condenses years of lab data into a clear summary, with the goal of helping patients better understand their results before their appointments.
Path Star
Healthcare Revenue Cycle Business Path Star is advancing its partnership with Google Cloud to expand its use of agentic AI. By combining Waystar’s financial and clinical data with Google Cloud’s technology infrastructure, the companies aim to create an autonomous revenue cycle system that optimizes claims processing and improves the patient experience.
Since the companies began working together in 2024, Waystar says its AI-powered platform has already avoided more than $15 billion in denied claims and reduced the time spent on denial appeals and collections by approximately 90%.
The expanded collaboration deepens Waystar’s integration with Google Cloud’s large Gemini language models and data infrastructure, enabling the company to use agentic AI in more complex revenue cycle workflows. This means Waystar can launch new automation features more quickly, which can in turn help healthcare providers get paid faster while improving accuracy for patients.
Photo: hapabapa, Getty Images
