Why I build AI systems for practitioners

In 2022, I had an ischemic stroke. I was 52.

One day I was right-handed, independent, moving through life without thinking about it. The next I was relearning basic things with my left hand, navigating a power wheelchair, and dealing with pain that most medications can't touch.

Recovery meant home health care in Wichita. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, all coming to me. I got to see the health and wellness world from the inside, not as someone building software, but as someone who needed help.

What I saw from the other side

The practitioners coming to my home were good at their jobs. Attentive, skilled, genuinely cared. But I watched them drown in everything around the actual care. Between sessions, they'd be typing up notes on a laptop at my kitchen table, sending follow-up emails, updating spreadsheets, trying to remember who they needed to see next. Same story from every therapist who came through my door.

These people got into their work to help others. The thing pulling them away wasn't a lack of skill or motivation. It was admin.

When my insurance ended and my therapies stopped, I had a lot of time to sit with what I'd observed. I kept thinking about how much better the experience could be for both the practitioner and the patient if someone just took the repetitive work off their plate.

Why this became personal

My stroke left me with right-sided hemiparesis, chronic pain, and dysarthria, which means difficulty speaking clearly. I understand everything fine. I just can't always articulate it the way I used to. That pushed me toward writing and building things with my hands on a keyboard instead of talking through them on calls.

It also gave me a perspective most people building tech for healthcare don't have. I've been the patient sitting in the waiting room wondering if anyone's going to follow up. I've been the one whose intake form disappeared into a void. I know what it feels like when the system around the care breaks down, because I've lived it.

You don't learn that from a market research report.

What I actually do

I build AI agent systems. That sounds fancy, but the idea is simple: I take the repetitive tasks a practitioner does every day and set up software that handles them automatically.

A new client fills out a form. The agent collects their health history, books the first session, and sends a welcome email. After a session, it sends a summary and homework reminders. If someone hasn't booked in a while, it reaches out at the right time.

None of this requires the practitioner to learn new tools or change how they work. I build around their existing workflow, not the other way around.

Why health and wellness specifically

I could build automation for any industry. But I chose this one because I've been on both sides of it.

Health and wellness practitioners tend to be solo operators or small teams. No IT department, no operations manager. They're doing everything themselves. The gap between what they could accomplish and what they actually have time for is huge.

One automation that saves thirty minutes a day gives a solo practitioner back two and a half hours a week. That's two extra client sessions, or a lunch break they haven't taken in months.

How I think about this work

I'm not trying to replace anyone's judgement or make their practice feel robotic. The whole point is the opposite: remove the mechanical parts so what's left is the stuff that actually requires a person. The listening. The adjusting. The relationship you build over time.

If a client gets a follow-up message that sounds like their practitioner wrote it, and it arrives at the right time, and it includes the right resource, that's a better experience for the client and less work for the practitioner.

I know that firsthand, because I've been the client who benefits when those things work.

What's next

I'm writing here because I want to share what I'm learning. How agents work in real practices, what goes wrong, what actually moves the needle. Not theory. Stuff I've seen firsthand.

If you run a practice and you're curious whether this kind of thing would help, reach out. I'll tell you what's realistic for your situation.