CEO of eClinicalWorks Says AI Will 'Cost a Lot.' So Why Offer It for Free?

eClinicalWorks CEO Girish Navani revealed several new AI-focused initiatives at the company's National Conference in Nashville. Despite the high costs of AI development, Navani stated that the company is committed to offering some AI capabilities for free to make advanced health care technology more accessible, particularly for smaller practices without the resources of larger hospital systems.

The keynote announcement included the launch of version 12.04 of eClinicalWorks' electronic health record (EHR) system, featuring a redesigned interface called Canvas for Care. This new interface aims to streamline patient information, AI-generated summaries, recommended actions, and relevant tasks into a single workspace to reduce administrative burdens.

Additionally, Navani introduced an AI-powered form builder and healowIQ, a conversational clinical intelligence tool that enables clinicians to ask patient-specific questions and review relevant medical evidence within the EHR. Some of these AI capabilities will be available at no additional cost to existing subscribers.

Navani emphasized that the company's financial structure as a privately held entity gives it the flexibility to absorb the costs associated with AI development. Unlike publicly traded companies with shareholder considerations, eClinicalWorks is solely focused on the needs of its employees and customers. This philosophy is central to the company's AI strategy, which it refers to as "democratizing AI."

However, Navani acknowledged that the platform allowing health care organizations to build, deploy, and manage their own AI agents, known as the AI Workbench, would be priced on a consumption-based model. This means customers would pay according to their usage of this advanced AI functionality.