How AI Could Turn Primary Care Into a Referral Machine

Ruth’s reporter's notebook: I’ve been thinking a lot about what happens to primary care when AI becomes the operational layer on which health systems run. There’s been a lot of chatter in the industry about better utilizing primary care and improving how it’s reimbursed. As of 2026, about 100 million Americans lack access to a primary care physician. 

But there are disparate visions for the future of primary care that I’ve heard in several conversations with sources.

Reserve Your Spot for Upcoming Webinars!

For example, during a cozy panel discussion in the middle of May, executives at the digital health companies Oura and Maven theorized that the future of health care might involve an artificial intelligence layer essentially becoming a person’s primary care. 

Maven has developed AI to coordinate care, and it has an LLM that responds to patient queries about their health.  The women’s health company is also building a system wherein the functions of primary care get handed off to nutritionists, obstetrician-gynecologists, lactation consultants, and mental health practitioners.