COVID-19 has turned our lives around by a 360 degree, transforming every aspect of our lives The most prominent changes happened in the Healthcare sector. Being an industry that faces challenges on an everyday basis, the adaptations also had to take place in the best possible manner in this field to overcome the drastic effects. Globally, the healthcare sector adopted two main, intriguing strategies– telemedicine and chatbots. Doctor consultations had existed even before on a small scale; although it seemed atrocious then, today in the ‘pandemic era,’ AI-powered telemedicine has become primary care.
AI Chatbots and healthcare transformation
It has become familiar to see chatbots pop when a website opens and ask basic questions like “how may I help you” or “what are you looking for”. But in the medical sector, chatbots are programmed to function at a whole new level- they perform tasks like scheduling appointments, billing, patient engagement.
AI chatbots mimic human conversation through text chats (commonly) and voice commands and are available 24/7 in any geographical location. Often, chatbots are programmed with preloaded FAQs and answers to adapt to human responses. Through this healthcare providers are receiving tons of patient data that thus create new opportunities.
Healthcare providers can simply speak to their AI-powered devices to record notes, schedule appointments, order medicines from pharmacies, and generate reports, thereby lessening their burden to a great extent.
Chatbot Platforms
A platform as such is the SafedrugBot that mediates messages between breastfeeding patients and doctors via the Telegram app.
Chatbots that give a much accurate answer about web searches regarding various symptoms of different diseases, accessed by people. These chatbots have been able to give out somewhat precise, accurate answers rather than the vague, gruesome ones found on any random website, thanks to databases of medical information and similar patient experiences.
One such app is ‘Ada’- a personal health companion that uses AI to determine a patient’s symptoms by asking a plethora of questions like “Where does it hurt?” to which it gives a diagnosis based on several GBs of medical data. The major advantage of using such a platform is that it understands and gathers more about the patient with each interaction, thanks to AI. ‘Ada’ generates a report that the patient can show the doctor about the diagnosis.
Chatbots can become ‘personal nurses’ for patients with busy schedules; It can assist in scheduling and reminding follow-up checkups, sending out reminders to take medicine, etc.
Chatbots that provide patients with accurate wait times are being powered by ‘LifeLink’ which gives an outstanding understanding of medical procedures and helps in finding doctors and scheduling appointments, sends families live updates about the patient’s health, etc. Such apps reduce uncertainties and frustrations.
Health and Chatbots
This AI-driven chatbot technology is a boon for health care providers and patients in these times and will be so in the tech-driven future too. It helps patients find doctors, schedule appointments, get details about tests and procedures, and medical bills. Chatbots are sure to increase patient engagement and patient satisfaction which is the ultimate goal of healthcare. The sector itself might seem less intimidating in the future, something to which we all can look forward to – no more hospital lobby’s disinfectant smells but rather the availability of possible healthcare from the comfort of your homes with no private-space intervention.
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