How AI is Transforming Healthcare: Insights from Sword's Executive Circle

In a compelling fireside chat at the recent Sword Health Executive Circle event held in New York City, Virgílio (“V”) Bento , CEO of Sword Health and Niko Triantafillou , SVP Benefits (Wellness) at 花旗 , explored how AI is changing the landscape of healthcare by complementing - not replacing - human expertise.?

Here are some highlights from their discussion:

• Bridging the supply-demand gap: With a shortage of healthcare professionals compared to the increasing demand for services, AI will be crucial for extending the reach of qualified clinicians.

As V put it: "There are 50 million Americans who have physical pain. There are only 200,000 physical therapists. AI is not going to replace these 200,000 PTs. It’s going to serve as their copilot to augment the scale and potential of each clinician."

AI will help bridge this healthcare delivery gap, allowing more people to access care while maintaining high standards.

• Keeping human expertise at the core: Niko highlighted that Sword's model stands out from the competition by integrating AI with licensed physical therapists. He told V: "If you try to take away that human part of this product, which is the part that I think our employees love, we're going to use somebody else." Sword’s approach ensures that care is always overseen by a PT, not replaced by lower-cost health coaches who do not have clinical training.

• AI as a co-pilot, not a replacement: V clarified that Sword's AI Care Specialist, Phoenix, supports PTs by offering suggestions, but "the AI doesn’t do anything independently from the PT. It is always the PT that is the gatekeeper of everything that gets done." This ensures a high level of clinical rigor while enhancing the efficiency of care delivery.

• Making healthcare accessible anytime, anywhere: Sword's vision is to remove barriers to healthcare, making it available on-demand. "If you wake up at 4 a.m. and want to do sessions, perfect—that’s not a problem for someone using Sword," V explained. "We empower each member by making sure that they can take care of their health whenever they want." This flexibility allows members to engage in care on their terms, whether at home, at the office or on vacation.

• The future of AI-driven care: Looking ahead, V shared Sword’s goal to make accessing healthcare as easy as getting running water by leveraging AI technology.

"Our dream is to have Phoenix in everyone's homes. When you have pain, your first thought is not that you need to go to the emergency room or take a pill. Instead, you’ll turn on Phoenix, connect with your PT and start your healing program together."

Healthcare and Benefit leaders who attended the Executive Circle came from the fireside with this takeaway:

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