LSUS students create app to help clear healthcare communication hurdles

LSU Shreveport graduate students Kurtis Alton and Jyotish Batra developed an AI medical app called Rx Connect to reduce communication breakdowns between doctors, pharmacies, and insurance providers. Alton, a business graduate student, brought experience from pharmaceutical sales and noted delays caused by complex formularies and prior authorizations; he said the patient often has no visibility into the process. After presenting at the LSUS Pilot Pitch competition in November—reaching finals but not placing—they teamed up with computer science graduate student Batra. The pair refined the concept through multiple competitions, including a semifinal run at Arkansas’ Governor’s Cup, where judges found it too complex. A live demo helped; they pivoted from direct-to-consumer toward a B2B model targeting providers and insurers. They earned first place in the graduate division at the Pelican Cup in late March, winning $50,000, after also tying the pitch to real-world consequences of medication non-adherence.