How AI & Machine Learning Is Revolutionizing The Healthcare Industry in 2018

Chatbots are changing the way an organisation reaches out to its customers to provide support. From placing an order of a client’s favourite snacks (Starbucks) to informing what’s playing on the nearest theatre (Fandango), businesses and brands across different industries are racing to making the most of chatbots. The healthcare industry is not far behind. It is effectively leveraging possibilities offered by AI to create a simpler, cost-effective, and customer-focused health ecosystem. In fact, chatbots for healthcare is the latest buzzword, and currently chatbots as health assistants are gaining popularity.  

Conversational bots in healthcare is not an entirely novel concept. In the 1960’s, Joseph Weizenbaum created ELIZA, a computer program that mimicked a Rogerian psychotherapist. But we have come a long way since then. Modern-day healthcare chatbots are not simple conversational interfaces but are powered by AI to offer a seamless healthcare experience. Here are some ways chatbots are excelling as healthcare assistants.  

Scheduling appointments

On average, a patient spends 30 minutes of his time trying to find the right doctor, and a nurse spends 1 hour to fix an appointment. Chatbots can help them. Many healthcare facilities have their own chatbots that schedule doctor’s appointments based on symptoms, current health status, and availability of the physician.

Managing post-treatment care

From reminding patients to take their medicines on time, to advising them to make lifestyle changes and join wellness programmes, chatbots are making patient care much simpler and effective. This is particularly helpful with older patients who do not have homecare professionals to take care of them.

Helping in coverage and claims

Chatbots have been a boon to companies handling health insurance. They help insurers check existing coverage, file claims, and keep track of the claim status, making healthcare easy and hassle-free for them.

Assisting in referrals

Not just patients, chatbots are helping doctors too. Many hospitals appoint chatbots as referral assistants to community physicians, to refer new patients to the hospital, and offer the best treatment for their health issues.

Chatbots in healthcare have huge potential, and we can see them entering other areas of medical care in the coming years. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that more and more medical service providers are using them for healthcare management. If you are a healthcare provider and are looking for ways to offer better service and improve customer experience, chatbots can be a way forward for you too. Want to know how to build your own chatbot health assistant? Contact Avaamo, an industry leader in healthcare chatbots. It is the industry’s only HIPAA-compliant conversational AI platform with prebuilt integrations to healthcare systems including Epic, AllScripts, and Cerner. For more information, visit http://www.avaamo.com