The US Patent Office has granted Hippocratic AI, a healthcare LLM developer and provider, the first patent for its Polaris system, a constellation architecture of large language models designed for healthcare applications.

The patent covers a primary conversational model for patient interactions and support models that monitor patient responses for safety. It specifically focuses on nondiagnostic healthcare tasks like medication management and administrative functions and includes specific applications for intake tasks, preventative screenings, scheduling, preoperative tasks, discharge tasks, billing insurance, and chronic care management.

Analyst QuickTake: This patent represents a significant milestone in healthcare AI development, particularly in the emerging field of agentic AI for clinical applications. The timing is especially relevant given the current healthcare staffing challenges, with McKinsey estimating a shortage of 200,000 to 450,000 nurses in the US alone. Hippocratic AI has gained substantial market traction, evidenced by its partnerships with major healthcare institutions, including Memorial Hermann Health System, the University of Vermont Health Network, and Fraser Health. This broad adoption suggests strong industry confidence in their safety-first approach to healthcare AI.