Overview

A large, multi-state behavioral healthcare organization partnered with The Latitude Group to modernize the front end of its admissions and referral process using artificial intelligence. Operating in a highly time-sensitive environment where patient placement decisions directly impact safety, access to care, and outcomes, the organization faced growing pressure on admissions teams working within legacy, paper-heavy workflows.

With increasing demand, fragmented intake processes, and limited scalability, the organization needed a way to accelerate decision-making without increasing clinical risk, staff burnout, or variability in care. The engagement focused on developing a proof of concept for AI-enabled admissions triage that could enhance human judgment, reduce manual effort, and establish a foundation for responsible, scalable innovation.

Designed for:

• Organizations managing high-volume, time-sensitive decision-making
• Teams modernizing legacy, paper-based workflows
• Leaders exploring AI while balancing clinical, regulatory, and operational risk

This organization employs 1200 FTE’s who are dedicated to other roles and currently facilitate manual admissions.

Challenge

Admissions teams were managing a complex mix of referral sources, including faxed medical records, handwritten notes, and inconsistent documentation formats. Intake staff were required to rapidly assess clinical fit, determine acuity, and identify appropriate placement, often under intense time pressure.

Key challenges included:

• Heavy reliance on manual, paper-based intake processes
• Delays in synthesizing referral information from multiple sources
• Inconsistent triage decisions due to fragmented data
• Limited ability to scale admissions operations as demand fluctuated

These constraints increased cognitive load on admissions staff, introduced variability into triage decisions, and limited the organization’s ability to scale access to care during periods of peak demand. The organization needed a faster, more consistent way to support admissions teams without disrupting patient care or compromising clinical judgment.

Approach

The Latitude Group partnered with the organization as an extension of its innovation and technology teams, bringing together clinical context, business discipline, and AI expertise.

Our role was not to automate decisions, but to design AI-enabled decision support that enhanced human judgment, ensured transparency, and aligned with clinical and regulatory expectations. We served as the connective tissue between frontline admissions teams, enterprise leaders, and AI technology partners.

Our approach included:

• Deployment of a cross-functional team spanning AI engineering, data engineering, analytics, integration, and business analysis
• Close collaboration with internal stakeholders and external AI platform partners to co-develop the solution
• Deep grounding in real admissions workflows to ensure relevance and adoption
• Clear documentation of system design, decision logic, and governance considerations
• Structured delivery discipline to move quickly without sacrificing responsibility

This work was supported by The Latitude Group’s ability to scale specialized talent, contributing to 43 healthcare and technology consultants supporting AI, data, and transformation initiatives over a two-year period.

Transformation

The team developed a working proof of concept that demonstrated how AI could responsibly support admissions triage by ingesting referral documentation, extracting key clinical indicators, and surfacing prioritization insights in minutes rather than hours.

Key transformation elements included:

• Automated analysis of faxed and scanned referral documents
• Rapid identification of admission fit and priority
• Visibility into downstream placement considerations
• Clear documentation of technical architecture and decision logic

Beyond the technology itself, the organization demonstrated it could responsibly pilot AI in a clinical environment, establishing a repeatable model for evaluating, governing, and scaling future AI initiatives.

This will have a significant impact on patient care quality: currently 175, 24/7 call center staff receive rollover calls from the 55 facilities. The call center representatives cannot accept/admit patients; they can only gather data, then must reroute the patient back into the facility’s call queue.

Results

While designed as a proof of concept, the project delivered tangible value and strategic clarity:

• Validated that AI-driven admissions triage can be safely applied in a clinical setting
• Reduced the time required to synthesize referral information and support intake decisions
• Established a scalable admissions innovation pipeline rather than a one-off solution
• Enabled leaders to make informed, evidence-based decisions about future AI investments

The project replaced uncertainty with clarity, allowing leadership to move forward with AI grounded in real-world evidence rather than assumption.

It is estimated there will be a cost savings of $3.5 to $4 million for AI call center reduction and improved qualified patient acceptance with AI pre-work.

Partnership

The Latitude Group functioned as a trusted partner and extension of the organization’s innovation team. Our consultants worked closely with internal stakeholders and external vendors, translating clinical needs into actionable technical solutions.

This embedded partnership allowed the organization to move quickly without sacrificing governance, patient safety, or trust across clinical and operational teams.

Looking Ahead

The work established a reusable innovation model that can be applied across admissions, referrals, and other front-end clinical workflows. Even as priorities evolve, the proof of concept and roadmap continue to inform how the organization approaches AI-enabled transformation.

This engagement reflects how The Latitude Group helps organizations navigate complex AI initiatives, balancing innovation, responsibility, and real-world adoption to create lasting value.