Introduction

Salem Gastroenterology Associates is a leading digestive health practice in Oregon, specializing in advanced endoscopic procedures and gastrointestinal care. Their services include diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopy, esophageal testing, liver disease management, and colorectal cancer screening initiatives.

Like many GI practices, Salem Gastro faced operational bottlenecks related to pre-procedure assessments:

• Long patient lists awaiting colonoscopy
• Low patient response rates to staff phone calls
• Excessive staff time spent collecting repetitive medical history
• Growing demand for weekend and after-hours patient engagement

To address these challenges, Salem Gastro partnered with Lyons Global to implement the LEO AI Screening and Triage platform, a conversational AI system designed to capture comprehensive patient histories and generate structured clinical summaries without human staff intervention.

Results

Patient Engagement

• Unique users who started the screening: 170
• Completed screenings: 151 (88% completion rate)

Efficiency Gains

• Average screening length: 8 minutes 13 seconds
• Traditional calls: 30-40 minutes
• Time reduction: approximately 22–32 minutes per patient
• Total staff time saved in one month: 76 hours
• Labor cost savings calculated separately by the practice

After-Hours Utilization

• Patients screened after 5 PM: 19
• Patients screened before 8 AM: 7
• Patients screened on weekends: 8

This demonstrated that LEO AI facilitated patient engagement during periods when the clinic was traditionally closed, improving accessibility for patients with diverse schedules.

Efficiency Gains

• Average screening length: 8 minutes 13 seconds
• Traditional calls: 30-40 minutes
• Time reduction: approximately 22–32 minutes per patient
• Total staff time saved in one month: 76 hours
• Labor cost savings calculated separately by the practice

Patient Satisfaction

• 75% of patients recommended LEO AI
• 92% patient satisfaction rate
• Common patient comment:

    “Yes and no questions and the language was easy to understand.”

Device Usage

• Mobile users: 87%
• Desktop users: 13%
• Most patients accessed LEO AI via iOS or Android

Discussion

LEO AI transformed Salem Gastro’s colonoscopy pre-screening from a labor-intensive manual process into a rapid, digital solution. Key clinical and operational benefits included:

    Reduced time burden on staff

    Increased patient completion rates

    After-hours patient engagement

    High patient satisfaction and mobile usability

    Operational efficiency gains in clinical workflows

The results highlight a scalable model for other gastroenterology clinics aiming to improve operational efficiency and patient-centered care through AI-driven solutions.

Conclusion

LEO AI significantly improved operational efficiency and patient engagement during the pilot implementation at Salem Gastro. The platform achieved high patient completion rates, substantial time savings for staff, and enabled screening access outside normal business hours.

Salem Gastro’s experience offers a compelling example for adopting AI-driven screening tools across GI practices and other procedural specialties seeking to enhance workflow efficiency and patient convenience.

Strategic Value for GI Practices: 

• Faster pre-procedure screening
• Increased capacity without additional staffing
• Scalable to other GI assessments (e.g., FIT testing, Barrett’s screening)
• Enhances patient trust and digital engagement

Acknowledgement:

• Salem Gastroenterology Associates Clinical Staff
• Lyons Global Team
• LEO AI Product Development Team

Authors:

• Salem Gastroenterology Associates, Salem, OR, USA
• Lyons Global, Granite Bay, CA, USA

References:

• Salem Gastroenterology Associates. (2025). https://salemgastro.com/gastro/
• Internal platform analytics dashboard (Lyons Global, July 2025)