SoundHound AI Inc. (NASDAQ: SOUN), a global leader in voice and agentic AI, has announced a major expansion of its AI agent platform within MUSC Health’s pharmacy operations.
The expansion extends “Emily,” MUSC Health’s AI agent built on SoundHound’s next-generation agentic platform, to cover retail and specialty pharmacy phone lines across the health system.
MUSC Health, the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, first deployed Emily in 2024 to enhance patient appointment management before scaling it across broader nonclinical workflows.
The collaboration has now supported more than 2.2 million patient calls, marking a significant milestone in the health system’s ongoing digital transformation strategy.
MUSC Health’s pharmacy integration is notable as one of the first agentic voice implementations for an Epic-integrated system, connecting patients directly through natural-language conversations.
Patients interacting with Emily on pharmacy lines can process prescription refill requests, receive real-time refill status updates, access pharmacy hours and location information, and be routed to appropriate pharmacy teams when needed.
Crystal Broj, Chief Digital Transformation Officer at MUSC Health, described the initiative as a careful balance between technology and human-centered care delivery.
“From patient access to pharmacy operations, we are thoughtfully deploying AI to enhance the human experience in health care,” said Broj, adding that the technology must be “secure, reliable and capable of responsibly managing sensitive patient interactions.”
Michael Zagorsek, Chief Operating Officer at SoundHound AI, said the results at MUSC Health demonstrate the scalability of enterprise-grade conversational AI in demanding health care environments.
“Supporting more than 2 million patient interactions and expanding into pharmacy operations underscores how our sophisticated AI agents can scale securely within the industry,” said Zagorsek.
The expansion addresses a broader challenge facing health systems nationwide, including rising call volumes, workforce shortages, and growing patient expectations for self-service access.
By enabling patients to complete routine tasks independently, the AI agent system reduces staff wait times and frees clinical and administrative personnel to focus on more complex patient needs.
MUSC Health’s broader digital strategy aims to create a self-service front door that provides seamless patient access while reducing the administrative burden on its workforce.
Founded in 1824, MUSC operates with a total enterprise annual operating budget of $8.9 billion and employs more than 36,200 faculty, physicians, and care team members across its health system.
