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What does an AI receptionist do in a medical practice?
It takes the calls nobody at the practice has time for. Tilcao picks up, says it is an AI, recognises the patient, and books, moves or cancels the appointment types the practice has opened to it. It answers questions on hours, address, prices and what to bring with what the practice has written down, in the patient’s language, and leaves the team a summary of every call. The same agent answers WhatsApp. You can hear it on the demo line of our example practice, +32 460 23 23 00.
What it does at the front desk is the same for a dentist, a GP or a physiotherapist. What differs is the practice’s software, its appointment types and its rule for calls that cannot wait, which is why Tilcao is set up for each care practice on request rather than switched on. You will also see it called an AI front desk, an AI answering service or an AI phone assistant: the same thing.
- Answers every call at once, also the second and third caller, day and night.
- Books, moves and cancels the appointment types the practice opens, for the right practitioner.
- Offers a freed slot to the next patient when someone cancels.
- Answers practical questions from the practice’s own texts, never from the internet.
- Switches between Dutch, French and English when the caller does.
- Hands the call to a named person, with a summary, whenever it leaves the routine.
Which care practices can use an AI receptionist?
Any practice that works by appointment and whose phone rings while the practitioner treats. In Belgium that is most of first-line care.
| Practice | With the right to practise | What the calls are mostly about | What stays with a person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dental practice | 11,521 dentists | Check-ups, treatments, moving appointments, a patient in pain | How urgent the pain is. Tilcao runs here today |
| GP practice | 19,418 GPs | Same-day and routine consultations, home visits, practical questions | How urgent a complaint is, results, prescriptions |
| Physiotherapy | 45,867 physiotherapists | The first appointment and the next sessions of a series | Anything about the treatment itself |
| Specialist practice | 34,315 medical specialists | First appointments, moving them, preparation, the referral letter | Who is seen sooner |
| Psychology practice | 21,319 clinical psychologists | A request for a first session, moving sessions, practical questions | The intake itself, and any caller in distress |
| Speech therapy | 18,906 speech therapists | Parents calling for a child, series of sessions | Anything about the therapy |
| Midwife | 14,456 midwives | Check-up appointments, practical questions | Any question about the pregnancy or the birth |
| Dietetics | 8,803 dieticians | First consultation and follow-ups | Nutrition advice |
SourceFPS Public Health, HWF annual statistics 2025 (STATAN), tables 3, 13, 76, 87, 100, 121, 134 and 158
What does an AI receptionist never do in a medical practice?
Clinical work. It does not judge how urgent a complaint is, does not name a condition and does not advise on medicines. The European guidance MDCG 2019-11 counts appointment scheduling as software without a medical purpose, but software that assesses complaints or urgency can become a medical device. Tilcao stays on the scheduling side.
On a red flag it stops booking, reads out the practice’s rule and alerts a person. Out of hours it gives the route the practice has chosen: for general practice that is the out-of-hours service on 1733, and 112 when life is at risk. What that means for a GP or physiotherapy practice is on AI for GPs and physiotherapists.
SourceEuropean Commission, MDCG 2019-11 rev.1, qualification and classification of software, June 2025
Which practice software can an AI receptionist book into?
The one the practice already runs, where it allows a connection. The practice software stays the medical record: the receptionist only reads free slots and writes the appointment types it is allowed to. In Belgium the software differs by profession, and so does the route in.
For GPs, RIZIV-INAMI accepts nine packages for the integrated practice premium: CareConnect, HealthOne, Daktari, Medinect, OmniPro, ProDoc, Medispring, NexuzHealth and Mediris Multi. Physiotherapists work with packages approved for MyCareNet, among them Crossuite, CareConnect Physiotherapist, KineQuick, Oxygen, Sophia, Hygie and Kiné Helper. Many practices also let patients book through an online agenda in front of their software.
With Tilcao the connection is a step of the setup. We check the route on the practice’s own installation, through the software where it opens one, the online agenda in front of it or an arrangement with the vendor, and set it up and test it before go-live. Where no route exists, Tilcao leaves the team a ready request instead of a pretend booking. Ask every supplier the same question: a booking that only arrives as an email is not a booking.
Is an AI receptionist allowed under GDPR and professional secrecy?
Yes, when it is arranged between the practice and the supplier. The practice is the controller and Tilcao is the processor, under a processing agreement signed before the first real patient call that names every subprocessor and where it processes. A call to a care practice is health data under Article 9 of the GDPR, and professional secrecy applies on top of it, to the practice and to everyone working for it.
Patients must be told they are speaking to an AI: Article 50 of the EU AI Act has required it since 2 August 2026, and Tilcao says it in its first sentence. Tilcao itself runs in the EU, on Google Cloud in Belgium with its database in Ireland; the voice and the language model come from American providers, named in the agreement. Recordings, retention and access are on security and GDPR.
SourceEuropean Commission, transparency obligations under Article 50 of the AI Act
What should you ask an AI receptionist before you sign?
Eight questions separate a receptionist that works in a Belgian care practice from a demo. Ask them in writing, of every supplier, Tilcao included.
- Which practice software does it write appointments into today, and how: through the software itself, an online agenda, or a message for the team to enter?
- Does it answer in Dutch, French and English, and follow a caller who switches language mid-call?
- What does it do when a patient mentions chest pain or a child with a high fever? It should stop booking and follow your rule, never assess.
- Does it say it is an AI in the first sentence?
- Where are the calls, transcripts and recordings processed and stored, for how long, and by which subprocessors?
- Who at the practice gets the call when it hands over, and with what summary?
- Can two patients call at the same time?
- Can you stop it yourself and send the line back to the practice in a minute?
AI receptionist or medical telesecretariat?
A telesecretariat puts a person on your line for an agreed number of hours and calls, and an AI receptionist answers every call at once and writes the appointment straight into the diary. Many Belgian GPs pay half of a telesecretariat through Impulseo, and whether an AI service counts is stated nowhere. Prices, Impulseo per region and the differences are worked out on medical telesecretariat in Belgium.
How does a medical or care practice start with Tilcao?
On request, with a conversation first. We look at your practice software, your appointment types and their length, your rule for urgent calls and your patients’ languages, and only then say what Tilcao can do for you. Where your software allows a connection, it is set up and tested on your own installation before go-live; where it does not, Tilcao leaves your team a ready request instead of a pretend booking.
You keep your number. The line is forwarded to Tilcao when you choose, for instance during consultations or after hours, and you can switch it back yourself.
Questions practices ask
What is the best AI receptionist for a medical practice in Belgium?
No independent ranking exists for Belgium. The best one for you writes into your own practice software, speaks Dutch, French and English, says it is an AI and stops at triage. Tilcao does this in dental practices today and is set up for GPs, physiotherapists and other care practices on request; put the eight questions on this page to every supplier you compare.
Does an AI receptionist work for a physiotherapy practice?
Yes, for the front desk. A physiotherapist mostly treats alone, so the phone rings during sessions; an AI receptionist answers, books the first appointment or the next session of a series, moves and cancels, and sends reminders. Tilcao sets this up for physiotherapy practices on request, starting from their software.
Can an AI receptionist triage patients?
Not as a receptionist. Triage is clinical work, and software that assesses complaints or urgency can become a medical device under the European guidance MDCG 2019-11. A front-desk AI notes the reason for the call in the patient’s words, reads out the practice’s rule and points to 1733 or 112 where the practice has set that.
Must patients be told they are talking to an AI?
Yes. Article 50 of the EU AI Act has required it since 2 August 2026, for any AI system a person interacts with, unless it is obvious. Tilcao says it in its first sentence, in the caller’s language.
Does Tilcao work in GP or physiotherapy practices today?
Tilcao runs in dental practices today. GPs, physiotherapists and other care practices can ask for a setup; we first look at their software, their appointment types and their rule for urgent calls before we promise anything.