Millie launches artificial intelligence solution for maternity care
Women's health clinic Millie launched a new artificial intelligence agent on Tuesday aimed at providing more personalized support for maternity care.
Based in San Francisco, Millie provides miscarriage management, lactation support, mental health counseling, prenatal education, postpartum support groups and gynecological care. It has a collaborative care model that includes midwives, doulas and doctors, and provides care virtually through its app and physical clinics. The company partners with health systems and accepts commercial health plans and Medicaid.
Its new artificial intelligence tool, Maia, integrates with Millie's mobile app for patients. It answers patients' routine questions about obstetric care, makes appointments and provides reminders about pregnancy care. It also customizes conversations for patients by remembering past interactions and learning communication preferences. Additionally, if it detects a problem with a patient, it escalates it so Millie clinicians can provide timely care.
“Maia is a natural extension of our core mission to deliver better maternity care through a more complete, proactive, and right-sized model that removes unnecessary stress and friction from the patient journey. … Women are often underserved during pregnancy, and Maia aims to eliminate that narrative,” Millie founder and CEO Anu Sharma said in an email. “Leverage the next generation of personalized, always-on maternity support with patient safety, data privacy and clinical quality at its core.”
Sharma added that Maia builds on some of Millie's existing features, such as 24/7 calling capabilities, environmental charts, app-based health checks and connected blood pressure cuffs.
The tool launches as the United States faces a maternal health crisis. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high-income country. The United States is also experiencing a severe OB/GYN provider shortage and Medicaid cuts, which are exacerbating the problem.
By introducing Maia, Millie aims to bring change to these challenges.
“Our overall goals for Maia and AI support are twofold: to create better models of patient-provider interactions that make care feel more empathetic and seamless [and] Providing our clinical and operational teams with more real-time insights in a way that integrates with their workflows so they can better support patients,” said Sharma.
The news comes shortly after Millie launched its perimenopause and menopause program in September. It offers hormonal treatments, non-hormonal medications, vaginal treatments and lifestyle strategies to relieve symptoms.
Millie's isn't the only maternal health clinic. Companies offering similar services include Pomelo Care, Mae and Maven Clinic.
Photo: Natali_Mis, Getty Images
