Enhancing patient care with clinical decision-making AI

Addressing industry gaps with advanced AI

The frustration with existing clinical tools inspired the creation of Clair. Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals often find legacy tools inadequate for the demands of modern medical practice. The available tools can't keep up with the pace of evolving medical knowledge, leaving clinicians to sift through lengthy studies or resort to generic AI tools that lack clinical specificity.

"The very first version of Clair was created by a pharmacist who was frustrated that the legacy tools he had at hand were not keeping up with the latest technology. The old standby offerings didn't -- and still don't -- provide the ability to ask a complex question and get a specific evidence-based answer in return," Nazari explained.

This need led to the creation of Clair, which leverages sophisticated AI to answer complex clinical questions with precision and speed.

Instead of relying on outdated resources, Clair offers a sophisticated alternative using large-scale language models trained on medical texts. This enables Clair to provide context-aware responses that continuously improve through user feedback. Given that the healthcare landscape is constantly evolving, this ability to adapt in real time is crucial.

"Clair stays updated with the latest medical guidelines and research findings by integrating data from trusted clinical sources such as medical journals, clinical trials, guidelines and FDA updates in real time," Nazari emphasized.

Revolutionizing clinical workflows

Clair is more than just an AI tool -- it's a seamless addition to clinical workflows. Designed for rapid adoption, Clair's medical-grade AI technology can be integrated into various healthcare settings without causing major disruptions. One of its significant integrations is with CaryHealth's intervention management platform, OneDash, which allows health plans to access individual patient insights and population-wide health trends efficiently.

"At its core, Clair is a quick reference, allowing clinicians to ask any complex question and get an accurate, immediate answer with references," Nazari elaborated. For instance, a nurse inquiring whether a breastfeeding patient can be prescribed a specific medication would receive an evidence-based answer within seconds. This ability to access accurate, up-to-date information on over 200 million clinical studies and 2 million drug interactions makes Clair an indispensable tool for healthcare professionals.

Moreover, Clair's intelligent sourcing system ensures that users receive information from the most relevant and trustworthy sources. For example, questions related to drug safety are answered using data from the U.S. FDA drug package inserts, while questions about clinical efficacy might reference the National Institutes of Health clinical trials database​.

Ensuring security, compliance and reliability

As with any healthcare AI tool, data privacy and regulatory compliance are critical. Clair's design adheres to -- and even exceeds -- industry standards. Nazari noted that CaryHealth's long-standing experience in handling sensitive patient information, particularly in pharmacy settings, has been instrumental in ensuring Clair's compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and other relevant regulations.

"Being a pharmacy, CaryHealth already has extensive experience managing sensitive patient information across our suite of products," Nazari explained.

Clair incorporates techniques for de-identifying patient information, ensuring the utmost privacy protection.

Beyond privacy concerns, Clair is built with a commitment to unbiased, evidence-based answers. Nazari emphasized that Clair avoids bias through a multifaceted approach. The platform relies on diverse training and reference data, utilizes explainable AI to detect and address potential bias and benefits from continuous human oversight and feedback​.

Enhancing user experience through feedback and iteration

Clair's early adopters have provided valuable insights driving the platform's continuous improvement. Feedback on the need for accuracy, speed, and ease of use has led to significant enhancements in Clair's user interface, expanding its medical databases and refining its natural language processing capabilities. These improvements ensure that Clair is a practical and reliable tool for healthcare professionals in real-world clinical settings.

"We will also monitor usage patterns and trends to identify areas for enhancement. Additionally, we aim to establish a community of healthcare professionals who can provide ongoing input and participate in beta testing for new features, ensuring Clair evolves to meet the dynamic needs of its users," said Nazari.

The future of Clair and AI in healthcare

The Clair development team is focused on integrating the platform more deeply into healthcare technologies and proprietary data systems. This will allow organizations to bring AI-driven efficiencies to their unique or proprietary data while adhering to safe and trusted medical guidelines. The ability to integrate with custom datasets will only expand Clair's capabilities, making it a valuable tool for any healthcare organization seeking to harness the power of AI for clinical decision-making.

"We are currently working on integrations to help bring custom logic/modeling to organizations' unique or proprietary data to bring the efficiencies of AI to these organizations within safe and trusted medical guidelines," Nazari revealed​.

As AI continues to evolve, Clair stands at the forefront of this transformation, offering a reliable, adaptable solution to streamline clinical decision-making. Whether in a hospital, clinic, or pharmacy, Clair is helping to usher in a new era of AI-powered precision care.

Alivia Kaylor is a scientist and the senior site editor of Pharma Life Sciences.