A chatbot for healthcare is a game changer for the medical industry, as it helps professionals serve patients 24*7. The conversational artificial intelligence chatbot reduces caseloads by assisting patients with easy access to healthcare.
Using technology in healthcare is not a new concept. Healthcare professionals are already using various types of artificial intelligence, like machine learning, predictive analytics, etc., to address multiple issues.
Thanks to new technology inventions, many healthcare organizations are leveraging the power of medical chatbots. If you are a healthcare provider wanting to integrate AI healthcare chatbots, this guide is for you.
In this ultimate guide, we will discuss everything you need to know before implementing chatbot technology in healthcare.
What Are Conversational AI Chatbots?
There is no denying that chatbots in healthcare are becoming more critical than ever. According to Allied Market Research, the global healthcare chatbot market that accounted for $116.9 million in 2018 will cross $345.3 million by the end of 2026. That said, we can expect more implementation of chatbots in healthcare organizations.
But before we dig deeper into chatbot technology in healthcare, let’s start with what a chatbot can do. In medical terms, healthcare bots are designed to provide guidance and appropriate help to patients digitally. Instead of searching online and understanding the cause of their symptoms, chatbots offer reliable and accurate information to patients.
Many professionals believe that chatbots are designed to help patients who aren’t sure about the severity of their diseases. Chatbots work by collecting basic information from patients. Then, based on the input, healthcare AI bots provide patients with more information about their conditions. In addition, the chatbot can suggest the next steps or connect patients with doctors based on their health condition.
Key Use Cases Of AI Healthcare Chatbot In Healthcare
Let us learn how healthcare providers can use chatbots to improve the patient experience.
Health Tracking
Many patients require daily health monitoring and tracking. Healthcare chatbots can be used to create a link between the patient and the doctor. Not only does the chatbot provide a detailed record of a patient’s health condition to the doctor, but it also assesses how well-prescribed medicines work to improve a patient’s health.
Symptom Checking
Chatbots can offer symptom checking to patients without them having to leave their homes. The Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology of chatbots helps patients to check their symptoms online and understand their medical condition.
Patients can input their requests in the conversational AI in healthcare. The bot can access the information and narrow down the cause behind their symptoms. Thus, it will help patients determine whether they need professional treatment.
Schedule Medical Appointments
Scheduling doctor appointments has never been an easy feat. Patients have to wait in long queues, making it hard to get quick health information. Chatbots are proven to be a fantastic solution to this problem due to round-the-clock availability.
Patients can quickly access medical information via chatbot by using its message interface. Plus, a well-designed healthcare chatbot can schedule medical appointments based on the doctor’s availability and the patient’s health.
AI-powered chatbots can also send follow-up messages or reminders via email, text, or voice messages to remind patients about their appointments. The best part about scheduling appointments via chatbot is that the staff won’t get overwhelmed when inquiries become high.
Easy Hiring & Employee Training
Hiring and onboarding new employees can be cumbersome and time-consuming, especially in a large healthcare company. That’s why they implement AI chatbots to make the job of the HR department easy.
Chatbots, for instance, can help new employees receive information about the company. In addition, new joiners can use the chatbot to automate multiple tasks, including maternity leave, requests for vacation time, etc.
Answer Frequently Asked Questions
One of the primary use cases of medical chatbots is providing timely answers to questions based on patient data. Many healthcare organizations can deploy an interactive chatbot feature on their homepage to answer common questions.
For example, a chatbot can help website visitors understand payment tariffs, insurance information, business hours, etc. This, in turn, lowers the workload on the in-house team and helps patients get quick information without any wait times.
If you are planning to get started with a project related to machine learning or artificial intelligence system development, contact Inferenz experts. The AI and ML professionals will help you integrate advanced technology into your organization without spending out of your budget.
Benefits Of Medical Chatbots For Healthcare
In today’s technology-driven world, every industry is leveraging the power of AI, and the medical industry is no different. Chatbots for healthcare can automate repetitive and mundane tasks, so healthcare experts can focus on complex ones. Below we cover a few common benefits of chatbots for healthcare.
- Chatbots help patients get immediate responses, improving patient engagement, providing better care, and reducing wait time.
- AI-enabled healthcare chatbot understands patient behavior to deliver personalized recommendations in real-time.
- Delegating repetitive tasks to medical chatbots can help organizations reduce the need for human resources.
- Patients with minor medical issues can chat with the bot to get simpler medical advice based on their medical history.
Risks Associated With Using Healthcare Chatbots
Similar to other technologies, a healthcare chatbot comes with a few disadvantages and shortcomings. Chatbots can work with doctors to provide immediate care, but they can never replace doctors in the healthcare industry. Ultimately, it’s the doctor who will provide physical and mental health assistance.
User privacy is the main concern when it comes to using AI chatbots to provide medical assistance. That said, medical professionals need to implement data safety measures and ensure their platforms are resistant to cyber-attacks.
The Future Of Chatbot Technology In The Healthcare Industry
AI-enabled chatbots can be used to check patients’ symptoms online, book appointments, contact doctors via video call, or answer simple medical questions.
That said, it is clear that healthcare chatbots are transforming the healthcare sector. We can expect many more organizations to deploy machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies in healthcare to streamline their processes.
If you want to know how healthcare organizations can use modern technologies to stay ahead, contact Inferenz experts today. Our professionals will help you in your health tech project or answer your questions related to chatbots for healthcare deployment.