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Arkstone Launches Arkstone Next

On November 4, 2026, Arkstone unveiled its groundbreaking AI platform, Arkstone Next, designed to assist healthcare providers in managing infectious diseases at the point of care. This innovative solution targets healthcare settings where access to infectious disease expertise can be limited, such as rural health clinics, urgent care centers, and long-term care facilities.

The Need for Expertise in Infectious Disease Management

According to the CDC, the issue of antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat, leading to approximately 9.7 million infections and 50,800 deaths annually in the United States. The CDC's Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Report highlights that a staggering 28% of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions are deemed unnecessary. Within urgent care facilities, nearly half of antibiotics prescribed for common respiratory conditions are unwarranted. Furthermore, in nursing homes, around 70% of residents receive an antibiotic each year, with up to 75% of these prescriptions being inappropriate.

The cost of antimicrobial resistance is substantial, amounting to over $4.6 billion per year in the United States just for treating six prevalent resistant infections. Often, small healthcare providers lack dedicated infectious disease specialists, which amplifies the challenge of making informed treatment decisions. This is where Arkstone Next steps in, offering timely and evidence-based guidance on appropriate antibiotic use.

Bridging the Gap with Arkstone Next

Dr. Ari Frenkel, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of Arkstone, explained that clinicians face the toughest challenge not from a lack of knowledge but from processing vast amounts of data rapidly to make informed choices. Arkstone Next effectively bridges this gap by delivering expert-guided insights that assist clinicians in selecting the most appropriate drug, dosage, and treatment duration— or determining if no drug is necessary.

This AI platform builds upon Arkstone's existing technology, OneChoice®, which has been utilized in clinical decision support for over two million cases during the last decade. Arkstone Next is different from conventional AI systems; it is specifically tailored, trained, and validated by infectious disease experts. Every recommendation generated by the system includes citable clinical guidance, ensuring that healthcare professionals can rely on the information provided.

Features of Arkstone Next

Arkstone Next is equipped with several key features:

• - ARKIE: An AI assistant that helps clinicians quickly tackle infectious disease inquiries and interpret diagnostic results, reducing response times from hours to mere moments.
• - OneChoice Portal: Integrates Arkstone's guidance directly into clinicians' workflows, ensuring they have easy access to vital information, not just when a lab report comes in.
• - Precision Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP): Streamlines and enhances facilities' abilities to run their antimicrobial stewardship programs while meeting essential CDC and CMS requirements with reduced administrative burdens.
• - Flexible Accessibility: Offers guidance through electronic health records (EHR), the web, and smartphones, making it versatile and easy to integrate into daily practices.

Local MD, which operates ten urgent care clinics across Illinois and Indiana, has found immense value in Arkstone Next. Jamal Samaha, the Chief Growth Officer, noted the platform's role in empowering clinicians to swiftly ascertain the correct treatment for urgent care patients, ultimately improving patient outcomes and minimizing costs associated with unnecessary treatments and readmissions.

Conclusion

With Arkstone Next, healthcare professionals can devote less time to searching for answers and more time to patient interaction. This revolutionary platform aims to mitigate unnecessary antibiotic use, lower healthcare expenditures, and simplify compliance with stewardship regulations. Arkstone is committed to enhancing clinical decision support through expert-in-the-loop AI, striving to provide tailored, evidence-based guidance to combat antimicrobial resistance and improve patient care outcomes. For more information, visit Arkstone's website.