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Overview

Alto Health’s RAG capabilities enable you to build context-aware AI applications that can answer questions and generate insights from medical referral referrals. By combining referral retrieval with AI generation, you can create intelligent systems that understand and reason over clinical information.

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How It Works

Alto Health processes your medical referrals and makes the content queryable through natural language:
  1. Upload referrals - Send medical referrals using the Upload referral endpoint
  2. Automatic Indexing - Alto Health automatically processes and indexes referral content
  3. Query with Decision Tree - Ask questions or generate insights using the indexed clinical data
  4. Structured Responses - Receive accurate, context-aware answers grounded in the actual referral content

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Example Response

When pathway evaluation completes, Alto Health sends a webhook notification with RAG-powered clinical reasoning. Here’s an example showing how Alto Health evaluates clinical pathways using retrieved referral context: 
{
  "results": [
    {
      "result": false,
      "reason": "## Detailed Clinical Explanation\n\nBased on the medical referral provided, there is **no mention of any Achilles tendon pathology** in this patient. The referral letter is specifically focused on breast pathology, not musculoskeletal or tendon issues.\n\n### Evidence from the referral\n\nThe patient's presenting complaint is \"redness and swelling in right breast since 4 months\" with gradual swelling, increasing redness, and pain in her right breast.\n\n### Clinical Context\n\nThe clinical presentation described in this referral is highly suggestive of inflammatory breast pathology (possibly inflammatory breast cancer given the peau d'orange appearance, nipple inversion, and axillary lymphadenopathy).\n\n**Conclusion:** This patient does not have an Achilles tendon rupture (acute or delayed) and therefore does not require urgent fracture clinic assessment for this condition.",
      "comparison_type": "equal",
      "value_a": "Does the patient have an acute or delayed Achilles tendon rupture that requires urgent assessment (if a fracture clinic is available)?",
      "value_b": "Yes",
      "citation": "Rosa presented with redness and swelling in right breast since 4 months. She has noticed that her right breast is gradually becoming swollen and redness is increasing since 4 months.",
      "confidence": 100,
      "model_results": [
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-4",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "Based on the medical referral provided, there is no mention of any Achilles tendon pathology in this patient..."
        },
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-5",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "The referral concerns breast symptoms and examination findings. There is no mention of lower limb injury, ankle/calf pain, or any Achilles tendon findings..."
        },
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-5.1",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "The referral exclusively describes breast-related symptoms and findings. There is no mention of the ankle, heel, calf, Achilles tendon, or any musculoskeletal complaint..."
        }
      ],
      "operator": "OR",
      "condition": "isEqualTo"
    },
    {
      "result": false,
      "reason": "## Detailed Clinical Explanation\n\nThe medical referral provided does not contain any information about an Achilles tendon rupture or any lower extremity pathology.\n\nThe patient, Rosa Brown, presented with redness and swelling in her right breast for 4 months, with gradually increasing swelling and redness, as well as pain in her right breast.\n\nThis clinical presentation is consistent with a breast pathology requiring evaluation by a breast surgeon, not an Achilles tendon injury.\n\n**Conclusion:** Based on the information provided in this referral, the patient does not have a chronic Achilles tendon rupture.",
      "comparison_type": "equal",
      "value_a": "Does the patient have a chronic Achilles tendon rupture lasting longer than three months?",
      "value_b": "Yes",
      "citation": "Rosa presented with redness and swelling in right breast since 4 months. The right breast is swollen and there is marked erythema around the nipple.",
      "confidence": 100,
      "model_results": [
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-4",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "The medical referral does not contain any information about an Achilles tendon rupture or any lower extremity pathology..."
        },
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-5",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "The referral focuses exclusively on right breast symptoms. The 4-month duration pertains to breast changes, not to an Achilles condition..."
        },
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-5.1",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "The referral exclusively describes breast-related symptoms. There is no evidence that the patient has a chronic Achilles tendon rupture..."
        }
      ],
      "operator": "OR",
      "condition": "isEqualTo",
      "ruleIndex": 1
    },
    {
      "result": false,
      "reason": "## Detailed Clinical Explanation\n\nThe medical referral provided does not contain any information about Achilles tendon-related pain or functional impairment in this patient.\n\nThe examination findings describe asymmetrical breasts, with the right breast showing swelling, marked erythema around the nipple and upper outer quadrant, peau d'orange appearance, nipple inversion, and palpable non-mobile axillary lymph nodes.\n\nThere is no mention of:\n- Achilles tendon symptoms\n- Lower extremity pain\n- Any trial of non-operative management for tendon-related conditions\n\n**Conclusion:** The answer to whether the patient has Achilles tendon-related pain or functional impairment that continues despite adequate non-operative management is definitively False.",
      "comparison_type": "equal",
      "value_a": "Does the patient have Achilles tendon–related pain or functional impairment that continues despite an adequate trial of non-operative management?",
      "value_b": "Yes",
      "citation": "Rosa presented with redness and swelling in right breast since 4 months. On examination she has asymmetrical breasts. The right breast is swollen and there is marked erythema around the nipple.",
      "confidence": 100,
      "model_results": [
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-4",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "The medical referral does not contain any information about Achilles tendon-related pain or functional impairment..."
        },
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-5",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "The referral focuses solely on right breast symptoms and does not mention any Achilles tendon pathology or non-operative management trial..."
        },
        {
          "model_name": "Ara-Clinical-5.1",
          "result": false,
          "reason": "The referral only describes breast-related symptoms. There is no mention of Achilles tendon pain or Achilles-related functional impairment..."
        }
      ],
      "condition": "isEqualTo",
      "ruleIndex": 2
    }
  ],
  "job_id": "b562615c-c1e7-46d3-ab17-7dc9e8c56e55",
  "processed_at": "2025-11-30T15:32:51.289628",
  "summary": {
    "total": 3,
    "successful": 3,
    "failed": 0
  },
  "description": "Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days): Trigger when Does the patient have an acute or delayed Achilles tendon rupture that requires urgent assessment...",
  "record_id": "692c5c41a0e641f56952aeb9",
  "pathway_id": "6927660faf4009404b48eea3",
  "node_unique_id": "62dae2d5-6a30-4e5f-87fa-f5cf33e1322e",
  "pathway_version_id": null
}

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Response Fields

FieldTypeDescription
resultsarrayArray of pathway evaluation results
results[].resultbooleanWhether the condition was met (true or false)
results[].reasonstringDetailed clinical explanation in markdown format
results[].comparison_typestringType of comparison performed (e.g., equal)
results[].value_astringThe clinical question being evaluated
results[].value_bstringThe expected value to compare against
results[].citationstringRelevant text extracted from the referral
results[].groundingarrayLocation of cited text in the referral (page, bounding box, polygon)
results[].confidencenumberConfidence score (0-100) for the evaluation
results[].model_resultsarrayIndividual results from each AI model
results[].model_results[].model_namestringName of the AI model (e.g., Ara-Clinical-4, Ara-Clinical-5)
results[].model_results[].resultbooleanModel’s individual result
results[].model_results[].reasonstringModel’s clinical reasoning
results[].operatorstringLogical operator for combining conditions (OR, AND)
results[].conditionstringCondition type (e.g., isEqualTo)
results[].ruleIndexnumberIndex of the rule being evaluated
job_idstringUnique identifier for this evaluation job
processed_atstringISO timestamp of when processing completed
summaryobjectSummary statistics for the batch
summary.totalnumberTotal number of evaluations
summary.successfulnumberNumber of successful evaluations
summary.failednumberNumber of failed evaluations
descriptionstringHuman-readable description of the pathway rule
record_idstringRecord ID from the referral upload
pathway_idstringID of the clinical pathway being evaluated
node_unique_idstringUnique ID of the pathway node
pathway_version_idstring/nullVersion ID of the pathway (if applicable)

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Understanding RAG Outputs

Alto Health uses multiple AI models (Ara-Clinical-4, Ara-Clinical-5, Ara-Clinical-5.1) to evaluate each pathway condition. This ensemble approach ensures:
  • Higher accuracy - Multiple models must agree on the result
  • Reduced bias - Different model architectures catch different edge cases
  • Explainability - Compare reasoning across models to understand the decision
The final result represents the consensus across all models.
Every RAG response includes:
  • Citation: The exact text from the referral that supports the conclusion
  • Grounding: Precise coordinates showing where the citation appears in the referral
  • Page numbers: For easy manual verification
This grounding ensures all AI-generated reasoning is traceable to specific referral content, enabling audit trails and human verification.
The reason field contains detailed clinical explanations in markdown format, including:
  • Evidence from the referral supporting the conclusion
  • Clinical context and interpretation
  • Explicit statement of what was NOT found (for negative results)
  • Clinical conclusion with reasoning
This transparency enables clinicians to understand and validate the AI’s decision-making process.
Confidence scores of 100 indicate:
  • High certainty in the evaluation
  • Strong consensus across all AI models
  • Clear evidence (or clear absence) in the referral
Lower confidence scores trigger automatic review workflows in your Alto Health configuration.
Pathway Evaluation: This example shows how Alto Health uses RAG to evaluate whether a patient meets specific clinical pathway criteria. The AI retrieves relevant referral sections, applies clinical reasoning, and provides explainable decisions with citations.
Use the grounding coordinates to highlight relevant referral sections in your UI, showing clinicians exactly where the AI found (or didn’t find) the evidence for its decision.

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Use Cases

Clinical Question Answering

Ask natural language questions about patient records and get accurate answers extracted from referral referrals.

Automated Summarization

Generate concise clinical summaries from lengthy referral referrals, highlighting key information for triage.

Pathway Matching

Automatically match patients to appropriate clinical pathways by reasoning over referral content and clinical guidelines.

Decision Support

Provide clinicians with context-aware recommendations based on referral content and historical case data.