Think of it as a "finding care" model rather than "finding a doctor." Whether it’s managing a chronic condition from home, accessing mental health support on demand, or receiving a timely follow-up at a clinic, patients benefit when they’re matched to appropriate care—not just the most familiar one.

AI will take care access even further
While policy decisions determine how virtual care is sustained, technology will define where it goes next.
Healthcare has been drowning in data for years—patient records, scheduling systems, and clinical workflows scattered across disconnected platforms, making care harder to coordinate. AI is finally changing that, pulling these pieces together to link patient history, social determinants, and clinical urgency into meaningful, usable insights that improve care.

It's not about replacing human expertise. Rather, it's about cutting through the noise so clinicians can spend less time wrestling with systems and more time doing what they’re trained to do—caring for patients.

Finding care shouldn’t just mean selecting a doctor. Instead of endlessly searching online and waiting weeks for an appointment, AI agents can guide and match patients with clinically appropriate venues of care based on their health needs and availability. Whether it’s a virtual visit, an express care facility, or a specialist referral, the focus shifts away from booking appointments to getting quality care—quickly and easily.

Where healthcare goes next
Virtual care has evolved, and care coordination has improved—but work remains. AI will accelerate access, expand efficiency, and help health systems serve more patients without exhausting clinical resources. Still, progress depends on the right conditions. Without stable policies, health systems could take a step backward just as virtual care is proving its lasting value.

The technology is ready. The strategy is in place. Now, it’s up to policy to keep the momentum going.

About the author: Derek Streat is founder, CEO and chairman of DexCare. He is an accomplished healthcare technology entrepreneur and executive, having co-founded and/or been at the earliest stages of six venture-backed companies including C-SATS (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Classmates (acquired by United Online), Medify (acquired by Alliance Health Networks) and AdReady (acquired by CPXi).
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Prior to joining Providence as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence to commercialize the DexCare platform, Derek served as VP of Digital Solutions at Johnson & Johnson - a role he assumed after C-SATS was acquired by the world’s largest healthcare company. There he led the charge to transform the organization responsible for training 250,000 surgeons worldwide into a leading healthcare quality improvement and continuous learning institution that directly advanced patient outcomes, provider efficiency, and health system value through digital solutions.

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