The tech giant is working with health systems and startups to develop AI agents that summarize medical records, assist NICU nurses, and streamline prior authorizations.
What happened
On October 16, 2025, Google Cloud announced a series of new AI partnerships with healthcare providers and vendors aimed at reducing administrative burdens and improving care delivery. These projects focus on the use of AI agents, advanced digital tools that can perform complex tasks with minimal human input, to automate documentation, support clinical decision-making, and simplify payer interactions.
Hackensack Meridian Health is using Google’s generative AI to power multiple agents, including one that summarizes patient records for clinicians. Since its launch in June, the tool has generated over 17,000 summaries across more than 1,200 clinicians.
Going deeper
The note summarization agent was initially built to generate general patient summaries but has since changed to deliver specialty-specific insights. For instance, oncologists and urologists now receive tailored information relevant to their field. Hackensack is also piloting two additional tools: a NICU nurse assistant that offers best-practice guidance and a lab summarization tool to help primary care providers quickly update patients.
IKS Health is also collaborating with Google Cloud on a multi-agent system that supports the prior authorization process. One agent detects when a prior authorization is likely needed, while another gathers clinical and administrative data to support the request. Human staff are included in the loop for oversight, especially when medical necessity is involved. IKS also uses AI agents for note generation and billing code alignment.
Another partnership includes virtual cancer care company Color Health, which is launching an AI assistant to guide women through breast cancer screening eligibility and scheduling.
What was said
Hackensack’s Chief AI Officer Sameer Sethi discussed the value of reclaiming physicians’ screen time. “We’re trying to reduce that time that the physician spends on screen looking at the patient chart,” he said, describing the new agent as a way to improve the physician-patient interaction.
Executives from IKS stated how their AI agents are designed to augment, not replace, human decision-making, particularly in sensitive administrative areas like prior authorization.
The big picture
According to Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Practice, “Rapid AI advancements can revolutionize healthcare by integrating it into clinical practice.” That vision is now taking shape through Google Cloud’s new partnerships. These AI agents demonstrate how machine learning can process complex clinical data, summarizing notes, identifying disease trends, and supporting frontline staff all in real time. Rather than replacing clinicians, such systems enhance their decision-making and free them from administrative work, allowing more focus on patient interaction and care quality.
FAQs
What is an AI agent in the healthcare context?
An AI agent is a software tool designed to carry out specific tasks autonomously, such as summarizing medical records or managing prior authorizations, often using generative AI models trained on healthcare data.
How are specialty-specific summaries different from general ones?
Specialty-specific summaries tailor the information based on a clinician’s field; oncologists might see different treatment history or diagnostic details than a urologist would, increasing relevance and speed of care.
What safeguards are in place to ensure AI agents don't introduce errors?
Most systems, like those from IKS Health, use human oversight for critical tasks. For example, human reviewers validate AI-generated documentation when medical necessity must be confirmed.
How do AI agents improve workflows in high-intensity settings like NICUs?
In NICUs, AI agents assist nurses by surfacing real-time best practices and institutional protocols, helping reduce time spent searching for information during urgent care situations.
What’s the role of AI in patient-facing tools like the Color Health partnership?
AI is used to guide patients through eligibility and scheduling steps for procedures like breast cancer screening, helping increase access to preventive care by simplifying the process.
Farah Amod
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