A surgical practice without a front desk

There is no receptionist here. An AI assistant answers the phone, books appointments, checks your insurance and sends your forms — and it tells you it is an assistant at the start of every conversation. A nurse practitioner and the surgeon are in the building whenever patients are. Anything clinical, and anything you would rather discuss with a person, goes to a person.

Dr. Peter K. Cudjoe in a treatment room beside a dental chair

Who is in the building

The surgeon and a nurse practitioner, whenever patients are.

Florida requires a dentist on the premises, and both are here for every appointment. What the software replaces is the desk, not a clinician: the phone, the booking, the forms and the door.

Why it is built this way

A small surgical practice has two expensive failure modes: the phone going unanswered, and a patient arriving with no idea what they owe.

The phone is always answered

Including at 2am, in English or Spanish, on the day the surgeon is operating all afternoon. A call that goes to voicemail is the most common way a patient in pain ends up somewhere else.

You know the price before you book

One number for your own case, quoted in writing at the consultation. This practice does not bill insurance, so there is no claim to wait on and no second bill weeks later.

The staff who are here are clinical

The budget that would go to a front desk goes to surgical time and to the nurse practitioner instead.

What the assistant does not do

Worth being specific about, because the limits are the reason it is safe to run this way.

It does not give clinical advice. Any clinical question is routed to the surgeon or the nurse practitioner, same business day.
It does not decide anything about your care. Booking rules, emergency classification and whether a door code is issued are fixed rules in software, not judgements the assistant makes.
It does not quote a number it cannot source. Every price, coverage amount and appointment time it states comes from a live response from your insurer or the schedule. If a system is down it says so and offers a callback.
It does not write to your chart. Clinical records are written by clinicians.
It does not pretend to be a person. It discloses at the start of every conversation, and again at the end of every call.

Dr. Peter K. Cudjoe washing his hands at a clinical sink

Questions about this

Can I just talk to a person?

Yes, at any point. Say “person” and the call is handed over. Some things go to a person automatically whether you ask or not: any clinical question, any complaint, a records or legal request, a caller who is not the patient, and any request the assistant has already failed once.

Are my calls recorded?

Only with your agreement. Florida requires the consent of everyone on the call, so the recording and AI disclosure is the first thing you hear, before any speech recognition starts. If you decline, the call continues on a path that is not recorded.

What happens to my medical information?

It stays inside the practice management system and the clinical platform, both covered by signed business associate agreements. It is not in the website, it is not in any analytics tool, and there is no tracking pixel or session-replay script anywhere in the booking or intake flow. See the HIPAA notice for the detail.

What if the technology fails on the day?

Every failure path ends in the same two places: the intercom by the door, and a single button the nurse practitioner can press to open it. Nobody has to work out which thing broke. If the door code does not arrive, press the intercom.

Is anyone actually in the building?

Yes. Florida requires a dentist on the premises, and the surgeon and the nurse practitioner are both here whenever patients are. The assistant handles the front desk work, not the clinic.

What if I am bringing a child?

A parent or legal guardian has to attend and sign, and stay in the building throughout. No door code is issued for a patient under 18 — a person lets you in.

What happens when you arrive

Questions about how the practice operates can go to (305) 432-6719. Ask for a person and you will get one.