Clalit Health Services has implemented an artificial intelligence system called AI–PRO, based on the C–Pi platform, to assist family doctors in delivering proactive and personalized medicine. The system represents a technological advancement in primary care that maintains physician authority while leveraging computational power to identify at-risk patients.
The AI–PRO system scans medical information from computerized records every night, cross-references it with clinical guidelines and knowledge bases, and surfaces recommendations and patients at risk to the doctor. The automated review process allows physicians to identify gaps in care that might otherwise be missed in busy clinical practices.
How the System Works
Examples of the system's capabilities include flagging a patient with diabetes who has not performed required tests, identifying a female patient with unbalanced hypertension, detecting patients at risk for osteoporosis, and highlighting medication combinations that require clinical attention. These alerts provide physicians with actionable intelligence at the start of each workday.
The decision-making authority remains entirely with the doctor. The system raises a flag, and the doctor decides whether to contact the patient, change treatment, send for a test, or ignore the recommendation. This structure preserves the physician-patient relationship while augmenting clinical decision-making with data-driven insights.
Clinical Decision Support
The C–Pi platform underlying AI–PRO integrates with Clalit's existing electronic health record infrastructure, allowing seamless access to patient data without requiring physicians to learn new systems or workflows. The nightly scanning process ensures that recommendations are current and reflect the most recent clinical information available.
By cross-referencing patient data with clinical guidelines and knowledge bases, the system effectively functions as a tireless clinical assistant that never overlooks a patient or forgets a screening recommendation. The technology addresses a fundamental challenge in modern primary care: the growing complexity of evidence-based guidelines that physicians must apply across diverse patient populations.
Physician Authority Preserved
The implementation at Clalit Health Services demonstrates how artificial intelligence can enhance rather than replace clinical judgment. Family doctors retain full discretion over patient care decisions, with the AI system serving as a decision support tool rather than a directive system. This approach respects physician expertise while providing computational support for population health management.
The system's focus on proactive medicine allows physicians to shift from reactive care—treating patients who present with symptoms—to preventive care that identifies and addresses health risks before they become acute problems. This proactive approach has the potential to improve patient outcomes while reducing the burden of preventable complications.
Why This Matters:
The deployment of AI–PRO at Clalit Health Services illustrates how healthcare systems can leverage technology to improve care quality without undermining physician authority. The system addresses a critical challenge in modern medicine: the gap between evidence-based guidelines and their consistent application in clinical practice. By automating the surveillance function while preserving human judgment in treatment decisions, the platform offers a model for integrating artificial intelligence into primary care. The success of such systems depends on maintaining the physician as the ultimate decision-maker, ensuring that technology serves as a tool for better care rather than a replacement for clinical expertise. As healthcare systems worldwide grapple with physician shortages and increasing patient complexity, decision support systems like AI–PRO may become essential infrastructure for maintaining care quality at scale.