Post-op patients call with questions that are routine 9 times out of 10, and urgent the 10th. The AI's job is knowing the difference.
Caller I had shoulder surgery on Tuesday and I'm wondering when I can take the dressing off.
ClinicFlow Happy to check the protocol. Can I confirm your name and date of birth?
Caller Janet Liu, 5/9/1970.
ClinicFlow Thank you, Janet. I see your rotator cuff repair with Dr. Chen on Tuesday. Before I read you the instruction, two questions the practice asks on every post-op call: any fever, and any redness or drainage at the incision?
Caller No fever. It looks clean, it just itches.
ClinicFlow Thank you. Dr. Chen's written post-operative instructions for this procedure say the dressing comes off on day 5, which is Sunday for you, and that itching without redness is expected.
Caller That's what I hoped. One other thing, my fingers have been a little numb since yesterday.
ClinicFlow I'm not able to tell you what that means and I'm not going to guess. New numbness after this procedure is on Dr. Chen's list to be looked at rather than answered on the phone.
Caller Is that bad?
ClinicFlow I genuinely can't say, and I would rather not speculate about your arm. What I can do is put it in front of his team right now. Which hand, and is it all the fingers or some of them?
Caller Right hand, the two smallest fingers.
ClinicFlow Thank you. Dr. Chen's team is getting a summary now: rotator cuff repair Tuesday, no fever, incision clean, new numbness in the right small and ring fingers since yesterday. They will call you back today. Everything we discussed, including the dressing instruction I read you, is in your chart.
The caller is matched to their procedure, surgeon, and post-op day in the EMR.
Every post-op question starts with a brief complication screen based on the procedure and your surgeons' red flags.
Routine questions are answered from the operating surgeon's own documented protocol, not generic advice.
The exchange is summarized into the chart; anything ambiguous goes to the clinical team with context.
| Scenario | Destination |
|---|---|
| Routine protocol questions | Answered on the call, documented in the EMR |
| Symptoms suggesting a complication | Escalated per your triage criteria, day or night |
| Questions beyond the protocol | EMR message to the surgical team with a structured summary |
Post-op call volume is where surgical practices bleed staff time: the same 20 questions, procedure by procedure, week after week. The clinically dangerous move is treating them casually; the operationally expensive move is interrupting a nurse for each one. Protocol-based answers with a complication screen in front resolve the routine 90% and catch the rest.
From each surgeon's own post-op protocols, captured during onboarding: dressing timelines, activity restrictions, expected symptoms, and red flags per procedure. The AI never freelances clinical guidance.
The complication screen runs before any answer is given. Concerning symptoms trigger the same escalation path as an urgent triage call, including after-hours escalation to the on-call surgeon.
Every call is summarized into the EMR, so the surgical team sees exactly what was asked and answered at the next chart review.
A post-op patient calls at 2 AM. Here is exactly what happens between the first ring and the on-call surgeon's phone.
See this call type →The call the AI is explicitly not allowed to finish. Refills get captured and routed. Approving them is always your clinicians' call.
See this call type →Patients call wanting their MRI results. The AI tells them everything about status, and nothing about findings. That line is the design.
See this call type →The demo line is the production agent. Call it, describe this exact scenario, and judge for yourself.
