Walmart is making it easy for employees to get healthcare referrals

Finding a doctor or a healthcare referral can be a never-ending process for some patients, but Walmart is offerings its employees a one-stop shop.

Health machine intelligence company Health at Scale is partnering with the retail giant to provide personalized provider recommendations to Walmart associates and their families. Employees must be enrolled in the company’s health plan and work in a location where Health at Scale is offered.

The platform utilizes AI and machine learning to analyze a user’s health factors and find the best provider fit. The service currently covers 25 different specialties, as well as 34 procedures and imaging. Health at Scale incorporates directly into Walmart’s health plan administrator’s existing search engine and virtual care referrals, making it readily accessible to employees.

Read More: Can AI help you save money on healthcare? This insurance company thinks so

“When patients are looking for providers, the way that process is being done is largely in an ad hoc way through anecdotal information — looking at the star ratings or reputation, ranking, or volume-based metrics,” says Zahoor Elahi, COO at Health at Scale. “But those methods don't really get at this question of who is best for them and who is going to have the best outcomes for them as an individual.”

To do this, Health at Scale will use insurance claims data to make better recommendations for individual employees seeking care — using the AI to factor in a variety of relevant data including comorbidities, past procedures and medication history to surface providers who have done well with those individuals in the past.

“No two patients are alike,” Elahi says. “Our focus has been on how to provide personalized insights that help patients get care that is focused and optimized for their individual health needs.”