Epic Develops AI Agents to Manage Routine Care

The health software company is building tools to automate clinical follow-ups and address medical workforce shortages.

Updated on Oct. 20, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Bold vector editorial illustration of a blood pressure cuff and digital thermometer, representing clinical automation and healthcare technology. — Epic is developing AI agents to automate routine clinical follow-ups, aiming to address healthcare workforce shortages and improve access to care. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Would you trust an AI agent to conduct portions of your routine medical follow-up visits?

Epic is currently in the discovery phase of developing AI agents designed to handle routine patient visits. The technology aims to automate clinical protocols, potentially allowing physicians to focus on higher-acuity care.

Why it matters

The initiative seeks to mitigate appointment delays caused by widespread healthcare workforce shortages. By automating routine follow-up tasks, the project could also improve healthcare access for patients lacking insurance or facing funding challenges.

Epic plans to deploy its Agent Factory, Art, and Emmie tools to gather patient data and compare it against pre-defined clinical protocols. The system is designed to present findings to a physician who then makes the final clinical determination.

The players

Epic

Epic is a prominent provider of health information technology systems used by hospitals and clinics worldwide.

UW Health

UW Health is an integrated health system that is currently consulting with Epic regarding the new AI workflows.

The details

The AI agents function by collecting patient information and running it through human-defined protocols before a provider reviews the results. This approach could allow some patients to bypass in-person visits through remote management.

October 13, 2026: Epic's senior vice president discussed the company's artificial intelligence strategy at Harvard.

The Tech Race

This project represents a significant evolution in the integration of AI agents in clinical workflows, aiming to transition from human-intensive follow-ups to automated screening models. The shift positions healthcare software providers to replace legacy manual intake processes with real-time algorithmic oversight.

If implemented, patients may experience reduced wait times and the ability to complete routine follow-up consultations remotely. Physicians would shift their focus toward more complex clinical cases, potentially improving the overall efficiency of care delivery.

The takeaway

Healthcare systems are increasingly looking to automation to solve chronic capacity issues and workforce gaps. Patients should prepare for a potential shift in how routine health assessments are conducted as digital health tools move toward more autonomous operations.