Understanding the Role of Chatbots in Healthcare
The use of chatbots is becoming increasingly common across all industries, including healthcare. Healthcare businesses are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology and chatbots to assist patients who are visiting their websites. In the healthcare sector, chatbots are an ideal solution to screen patient questions, reducing the amount of unnecessary questions for medical professionals to handle.
A healthcare business can build a chatbot that connects to its database, gaining access to patient data, educational materials, and standard practices. With this connection, medical chatbots can be used to reduce healthcare professionals’ administrative tasks, expand patient education, and offer patients mental healthcare services.
Let’s take a deeper look into the different use cases of how healthcare businesses are using chatbots to address health concerns and dispense health advice, generate a list of providers that accept a patient’s health insurance, provide medication reminders, and navigate the complexities of health systems.
Chatbot Use Case in Healthcare 1: Assisting in Patient Triage
Streamlining the Triage Process with Chatbots
Healthcare chatbots can improve the triage process in a clinical setting. By collecting patient information, health concerns, and medical history, a healthcare chatbot can help patients identify what level of care they need. This results in the patients getting the level of care they need while reducing the number of patients going to the emergency room when they should’ve gone to an urgent care clinic.
Benefits and Examples of Triage Chatbots
When medical chatbots can accurately assess patient’s symptoms and determine the level of care they need, the healthcare industry will see an improvement in patient outcomes. In emergency situations, the healthcare chatbot can provide the patient with a list of the closest emergency rooms, allowing the patient to receive care quickly.
On the other end of the spectrum, healthcare chatbots can also reduce the number of patients going to an emergency room for minor health conditions. By offering at-home care advice, patients with minor symptoms won’t fill up an emergency room, allowing health professionals to focus on patients in critical conditions.
Chatbot Use Case in Healthcare 2: Patient Education and Health Awareness
How Chatbots Enhance Patient Learning
Patients are able to take charge in their health journey when they are able to understand their current health conditions. With the help of a healthcare chatbot, patients can research their condition and health concerns with verified medical sources and white papers provided by a chatbot. By asking the medical chatbot specific questions, patients can gain a thorough understanding of their current health condition and how to work with it going forward.
Igniting Health Awareness through Chatbots
Jargon in the medical field can be difficult to understand, but with the help of healthcare chatbots, patients can break down this educational barrier to understand what health conditions they are at risk for. Patients can identify what they are at risk for while considering pre-existing conditions, medical history, and personal demographics. By improving their health awareness, patients can take preventive steps to improve their health.
Chatbot Use Case in Healthcare 3: Mental Health Support
Chatbots as Virtual Therapists
Even with health insurance, mental health support is expensive, and it can be difficult to find a provider accepting new patients. Due to these barriers, many patients are turning to a medical chatbot for mental health support.
When patients don’t have access to a medical professional, engaging in a live chat with a medical chatbot can provide patients with medical advice, including meditation guides and coping strategies. They can also connect patients to healthcare providers in their area that specialize in the care they need.
Real-world Implementation and Impact of Mental Health Chatbots
An example of a time when mental health professionals were in high demand is during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A record amount of people were experiencing loneliness, loss of loved ones, and at risk of losing their job or home. There were not enough mental health professionals to support everyone who sought out care, and healthcare chatbots were able to fill this gap and provide patients with an interim healthcare service.
Chatbot Use Case in Healthcare 4: Managing Chronic Conditions
How Chatbots Manage Chronic Care
Patients with chronic medical conditions have frequent appointments to manage their condition. By using chatbots, a healthcare business can reduce the number of administrative tasks healthcare professionals have to complete. Patients can use the healthcare chatbot for scheduling appointments, receive reminders for appointments, and get medication reminders.
Chronic Care Success Stories: Chatbots in Practice
By using a medical chatbot, patients can efficiently manage the administrative tasks in their healthcare without calling their healthcare provider. Getting reminders for their appointments can also ensure that they don’t miss any important appointments, ensuring they receive timely care.
Chatbot Use Case in Healthcare 5: Post-Operation and Rehabilitative Support
Bridging the Patient Care Gap with Chatbots
When patients are in a post-operation state, they will likely have questions about their recovery and what symptoms are expected. Patients can use healthcare chatbots to determine which symptoms are standard and which symptoms they should contact their provider about. Healthcare chatbots can also provide rehabilitative support, recommending stretches and exercises to help the patient heal.
Highlighting Post-Procedure Chatbot Success Stories
When a medical chatbot is tied to a healthcare business’s care plans and patient information, the chatbot can provide patients with accurate medical advice on how to handle the post-medical procedure recovery period. With 24/7 support, patients can easily identify when they need to reach out to their provider with health concerns, ensuring the patient doesn’t experience long-term complications.
Work with Geneca Today
If your healthcare business is ready to use healthcare chatbots to provide patients with a positive customer experience, reach out to Geneca today! We have a team of experienced software developers and business analysts who understand the ins and outs of the healthcare industry and medical field. With our focus on user experience and customer service, we will build a chatbot that supports your healthcare business with a conversational AI engagement solution.