# How did Barrington Orthopedic Specialists cut hold times with an AI scheduling agent?

> Barrington Orthopedic Specialists (26 providers, four Chicago-area sites) integrated an Assort Health voice agent into its EMR to answer scheduling calls. The vendor reports an 83% reduction in hold time, waits cut from 30+ minutes to under 5, and $120,000 a year in after-hours appointment revenue.

- **Evidence grade:** B — Named organization with a quantified outcome, from the vendor or the organization's own announcement.
- **Organization:** Barrington Orthopedic Specialists (orthopedic practice)
- **Industry:** Hospitals & Health Systems — Orthopedics
- **Roles:** Patient Access & Outreach
- **Tools:** Voice AI scheduling agent (Assort Health)
- **Status:** production · **Agent pattern:** voice-agent · **Autonomy:** 3/4
- **Last verified:** 2026-10-17

## Reported outcomes
- hold time: 83% reduction; 30+ min to <5 min [1] (self-reported)
- after-hours revenue: $120,000 annually [1] (self-reported)
- after-hours bookings: 36 appointments booked monthly [1] (self-reported)

## How it works
1. Voice agent answers all incoming scheduling calls.
2. Follows the practice's scheduling rules to match provider, location, and appointment type.
3. Books appointments after hours.

## Risks & compliance
- Mis-scheduling or mis-routing of patients with clinical urgency; escalation rules required
- PHI handled in calls (HIPAA); EHR write access
- Vendor-published results; not independently audited

## MedTech angle
Orthopedic practices are core accounts for ortho device reps; faster patient access upstream means faster time to surgical consults and procedures.

## Sources
1. Assort Health, "Barrington Orthopedic Specialists Cuts Hold Times and Generates $120K Annually" (undated; accessed 2026-10-17) <https://www.assorthealth.com/customers/barrington-orthopedic-specialists>
   > "Now the phone gets answered right away, patients get scheduled accurately, and our staff finally has the time to focus on more complex care needs."

Canonical: https://agentcasefile.com/cases/barrington-orthopedic-specialists-assort-ai-scheduling/ · License: CC BY 4.0 (summary) · Source: Agent Casefile