What Happens When AI Automation Fails (And How to Plan For It)
No automated system, AI-powered or otherwise, is perfectly reliable — outages happen, integrations occasionally break, and a well-built system should be evaluated partly on how it fails, not just how it performs when everything's working correctly.
Practical planning: any AI system handling patient-facing communication should have a clear fallback (a genuine person or backup process) that activates automatically if the system goes down, rather than leaving leads or patients with no response at all during an outage. It's worth asking any vendor directly what their uptime track record actually is, what their outage notification process looks like, and what fallback exists during downtime — vendors confident in their reliability should have straightforward, specific answers to these questions rather than vague reassurances.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if AI automation fails at a healthcare practice?
A well-planned system includes a fallback — a person or backup process that activates automatically during an outage, so patient-facing communication doesn't go completely unanswered.
What should I ask an AI vendor about system reliability?
Ask about their actual uptime track record, their outage notification process, and what fallback exists during downtime — vendors confident in reliability should give specific, not vague, answers.
Dr. Andre (The other one without the hit records) lol 😄