How Dermatology Partners Used AI to Elevate Their Call Center Teams—Not Replace Them

With over 70 providers across multiple locations, Dermatology Partners is the largest physician-owned dermatology practice in the United States. In a healthcare landscape increasingly influenced by private equity, the practice has maintained its independence while offering a comprehensive range of dermatology services, including general dermatology, aesthetics, and advanced skin cancer treatment.

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As the practice has grown, operational complexity has increased. Expansion of the provider network and patient base has placed additional demands on call center and front desk teams, which serve as critical components of day-to-day operations. These staff members manage a broad range of responsibilities, and the practice sought solutions to manage rising patient volume efficiently while maintaining high standards of care and optimizing staff utilization

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Dermatology Partners’ call center and front desk staff managed high volumes of routine tasks, limiting capacity for higher-value work. Call center staff handled thousands of monthly calls, primarily addressing standard scheduling requests and routine inquiries, while front desk staff managed patient check-ins alongside phone scheduling with only one staff member per location.

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These demands occasionally led to manual data entry errors, such as incorrect carrier IDs or missing NPI numbers, resulting in insurance claim denials and additional administrative work. High turnover, with average tenure under six months, created ongoing recruitment and training cycles.

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Leadership identified an opportunity to streamline repetitive tasks, enabling staff to focus on more complex work requiring human judgment and improving operational efficiency.

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EliseAI was integrated directly into Dermatology Partners’ EHR systems, AdvancedMD and ModMed, and configured to accommodate the specialized scheduling requirements of dermatology practices. Elise was built to understand provider-specific constraints such as daily patient caps, appointment types that could not be scheduled consecutively, and template holds for single versus double booking. Elise also interpreted chart notes (e.g., indications that additional time was required) and automatically scheduled extended appointments when appropriate.

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EliseAI supported both standard new-patient workflows and complex scheduling scenarios, managed routine appointment requests, and routed clinical inquiries to the appropriate teams based on predefined protocols.

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The rollout followed a structured and collaborative approach. Emily Miller, Director of Patient Services, partnered closely with the EliseAI Implementation team to pilot the solution in lower-volume locations, allowing workflows to be tested and refined prior to broader deployment. Once implemented, EliseAI handled inbound calls 24/7, including evenings and weekends, capturing scheduling opportunities that would have otherwise gone unanswered.

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Adoption and validation were driven by frontline staff feedback.

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EliseAI now handles 1,500+ calls every month and schedules 700+ patients, absorbing the routine, repetitive work that once consumed staff time. Front desk and call center staff have reclaimed 100+ hours monthly—time they now invest in patient check-ins, complex scheduling scenarios that require human judgment, and higher-value tasks that leverage their expertise.

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Call center staff are handling the complex cases—patients with multiple conditions, intricate insurance questions, coordination between specialists—the work that requires real skill and builds institutional knowledge. Front desk teams can focus entirely on the patients in front of them, creating smoother check-in experiences. Call center turnover has reportedly improved since implementing EliseAI.

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With EliseAI handling initial data capture more consistently, the practice is working toward reducing the insurance claim denials that previously resulted from manual data entry errors.

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Looking ahead, Dermatology Partners is exploring new ways to expand the partnership. The practice is exploring Elise's outbound patient outreach capabilities—reactivating inactive patients using ICD codes to identify melanoma patients who need proactive follow-up care, managing mass rescheduling during weather-related closures, and automating billing and referral workflows.

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For other dermatology practices watching their talented teams get buried in repetitive work, Dermatology Partners offers a clear lesson: the right AI doesn't replace people. It gives them room to grow.