The need for AI-enabled Chatbots for healthcare systems
Tags: healthcaresystem, chatbots, ai
Published: 2024-05-24 14:02:41

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As healthcare systems strive for better efficiency and patient care, the need for AI-enabled applications becomes increasingly apparent. AI-enabled chatbots are necessary for every healthcare centre and offer a potential solution to many operational challenges.
AI (Artificial intelligence) is a term used to describe computing systems that mimic human intelligence. When fed with data and specific algorithms, these systems can make more accurate judgements than an average working human. AI-enabled chatbots are one of the many applications of this technology, particularly relevant in the healthcare industry for its extraordinary clinical data services.
How can a computer program understand and respond to human language? This article delves into the fascinating world of AI-enabled chatbots, discussing their workings and why they are an excellent fit for [clinical data management solutions](https://www.puresoftware.com/research-and-development/clinical-data-management) in the medical industry. 
Continue reading to uncover the potential of this technology!

## AI-Enabled Chatbots

AI chatbots are fed input data, an algorithm that matches the input data to the desired output, and a self-learning program that makes it learn from its mistakes and rewards it for its accuracy. The whole set-up is done so that if a visitor asks a question to the chatbot, it analyzes their intent and other factors like tone and sentiment. After examining the input, the chatbot attempts to deliver the best possible answer using the predefined keywords/ phrases it has been programmed to recognize.
AI-enabled chatbots use NLP (natural language processing) to understand the query and give an answer. NLP itself works in two processes: NLU and NLG. 

- Natural Language Understanding (NLU) is the process of converting text into structured data so that machines can understand it.
- Natural Language Generation (NLG) is the process of converting structured data back into text that humans can understand.

##Need for AI-Enabled Chatbots for Healthcare Systems
 
Chatbots — powered by AI and natural language processing- are in great demand in healthcare systems because they can easily understand patient queries and answer/connect them to the most relevant output. These chatbots are more intuitive and responsive tools for patient care. With these bots, healthcare systems offer better and quicker responses to the patient's query. 

Next-generation AI chatbots are also one of the best clinical data management solutions. Beyond voice-enabled chatbots or general virtual assistants, GenAI chatbots can produce/ or take images, sounds, and high-quality texts. They only need training on large language models (LLMs). They feed the patient's medical history to the medical system database with little or no serviceman help, freeing them from other tasks that need human intervention. The doctor can further check the recorded data, saving them from manual work.

Here is a quick overview of other benefits of implementing health chatbots for [clinical data services](https://www.puresoftware.com/research-and-development/clinical-data-management):

- AI-enabled chatbots handle an increasing number of patient queries. These chatbots can offer basic solutions and health tips to patients, like information on the consumption of medicines in the absence of doctors.
- Health chatbots can schedule in-person or video appointments with doctors from home, as patients can submit all the necessary details online. 
- Next-gen AI chatbots access patients' symptoms to suggest the appropriate treatment. Their suggestions are accurate, and offer immediate assistance when a doctor is unavailable.
- Healthcare chatbots can be set to remind patients about their vaccinations. They alert the patient when it's time to get vaccinated and flag important vaccinations to have if the patient is travelling to certain countries.
- Health chatbots have been of tremendous help in providing mental health assistance. This is especially true for rural areas. Here, mental health resources are scarce, or people experience a crisis in the middle of the night, usually when "doctors" are not available.
- AI chatbots reduce waiting time, and with round-the-clock availability, patients have instant access to medical assistance whenever needed.

Though many patients appreciate receiving help from a human assistant, health chatbots greatly help those reluctant to share their information with a doctor. Chatbots are seen as non-human and nonjudgmental. Patients feel more comfortable sharing certain medical information, like checking for STDs, mental health, sexual abuse, and more. Health chatbots keep their information private and maintain anonymity.

While health chatbots greatly help, businesses must take care of [application management services](https://www.puresoftware.com/research-and-development/application-management-services) to avoid interruptions and delays. If you, too, are interested in installing a customized health chatbot for your healthcare system, Puresoftware is here to help. We offer customized app development for healthcare professionals and are available 24/7 for technical guidance.

## Conclusion

The healthcare sector continuously aims to improve population health, improve the patient's care experience, enhance the caregiver experience, and reduce the rising cost of health care. Health chatbots seem a great fit for achieving these goals!

Healthcare chatbots standardise a future of connected and AI-augmented care, precision diagnostics, precision therapeutics, and precision medicine. AI health chatbots can also be integrated into wearable devices, making access to healthcare even easier.