Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer telehealth provider, has launched an AI care agent that aims to help users understand and engage with their laboratory results.
Called Labs AI, the agent is embedded in the Hims & Hers platform and delivers personalized insights on users' lab results. Some users already have access to Labs AI, though the company did not provide a timeline for widespread access to the tool.
According to the company, the agent analyzes trends in users' biomarkers from lab tests, which are objective measures that provide information about cells or organisms. The agent is trained to identify patterns across 130-plus biomarker tests. It creates a profile for each user that shows current and historical biomarker values, trends over time and demographic and lifestyle information. The profile also includes prior care notes, if a user chooses to share them.
The advantage of this approach is that the AI can pinpoint patterns that cannot be gleaned from a single biomarker, the company stated.
Further, users can discuss their biomarkers and other analytics with Labs AI. The agent, which combines frontier language models with Hims & Hers' clinical knowledge base, shares responses from a curated database of clinical information and protocols.
The company also emphasized the guardrails that ensure the safe use of its new AI agent. These include automated evaluations for accuracy and regression-testing performance against fixed benchmarks set by medical experts when protocols change.
In addition, the agent is trained to escalate care to human clinicians when needed. The company underscored that the agent "never diagnoses," rather connecting users with providers via the Hims & Hers telehealth platform.
"Trust has to be earned in healthcare, which is why Labs AI was built with clinicians and evaluated for safety, accuracy, and reliability," Hims & Hers CMO Pat Carroll, M.D., said in the press release. "We are delivering clearer, more personalized health insights while keeping clinicians accessible to help customers manage their health with confidence."
The company indicated that this is the first of several new AI tools, calling this launch a "preview" of the AI ecosystem it is planning. According to the press release, the company's goal is to build AI features and capabilities into its infrastructure rather than layer them on top.
Hims & Hers' turn to AI development comes as AI becomes increasingly critical for digital health players. With digital health funding ticking up, a recent Rock Health report noted AI has become a core component of digital health solutions. The report further stated that complex, workflow-embedded use cases are driving funding for AI-based digital healthcare.
Hims & Hers appears poised to grow, after successfully establishing a partnership to provide Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 medications on its platform and acquiring an Australian digital health company that gives it access to new global markets.
Anuja Vaidya has covered the healthcare industry since 2012. She currently covers the virtual healthcare landscape, including telehealth, remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics.
