Journal of Medical Internet Research Roles, Users, Benefits, and Limitations of Chatbots in Health Care: Rapid Review

Healthcare chatbots are not only reasonable solutions for your patients but your doctors as well. Imagine how many more patients you can connect with if you save time and effort by automating responses to repetitive questions of patients and basic activities use of chatbots in healthcare like appointment scheduling or providing health facts. They’re using these smart healthcare chatbots to make things better for everyone. These medical chatbots bring many benefits to the table and have the power to change healthcare as we know it.

Regular updates help improve its performance, making appointment tasks even more efficient. One important process for success is to teach your team how to use AI for appointment scheduling without causing any disruptions. Our goal is to complete the screening of papers and perform the analysis by February 15, 2024.

AI might miss crucial aspects and the context of a patient’s situation that human healthcare providers can understand. Watson Health by IBM

IBM Watson Health is a well-known AI platform that combines many AI capabilities, including machine learning and natural language processing, to help healthcare practitioners make deft decisions. Data analysis, therapy suggestions, and research discoveries are all aided by it. Consider AiGenics, a case study where the use of AI chatbots boosted patient engagement and resulted in cost savings, to demonstrate the practical impact of these technologies. This exemplifies how AI chatbots are useful healthcare solutions rather than merely theoretical concepts.

Diagnostic Chatbots

After this introduction, the research questions leading our study are shared, then the applied methodology is described in detail. Next, results are discussed, organized by different categories of the selected papers. HealthJoy’s virtual assistant, JOY, can initiate a prescription review by inquiring about a patient’s dosage, medications, and other relevant information.

• This is because their information may need to be more accurate and up-to-date, which could result in misdiagnosis or treatment failure.
• Nonetheless, a significant challenge persists in guaranteeing the contextual relevance and appropriateness of chatbot responses, particularly in intricate medical scenarios [59,60].
• This theme refers to chatbot use as favoring efficient care for targeted users.

One of the chatbots’ biggest issues is that they don’t have access to specialists when they need them most. This means that they’re unable to provide patients with the right care at critical times. There may also be some cases where they give out incorrect information or advice because they don’t have all the necessary information. As more people interact with healthcare chatbots, more will begin to trust them.

Global healthcare chatbots market. Global market size: $787.1M

The AI monitors doctor schedules and the nature of medical issues and assigns appointments accordingly. A shining example of information delivery using AI chatbots is Babylon Health’s AI chatbot. It leverages AI to allow users to type their symptoms and then analyzes the inputs using its algorithm. They deliver reliable and customized information, either through websites or mobile apps, based on your reported symptoms. AI chatbots can also streamline the insurance claim process by assisting policyholders in filling out forms, explaining terms and conditions, calculating claim amounts, and expediting the overall claim process. Dive into this post to unlock the potential of AI in revolutionizing healthcare services.

In addition, our findings show the significant use of chatbots in mental health support for various age groups, reflecting the pressing need for accessible mental health services highlighted by others [4,8,12-17,29,30]. This rapid review revealed that chatbot roles in health care are diverse, ranging from patient support to administrative tasks, and they show great promise in improving health care accessibility, especially for groups considered marginalized. It also highlighted critical gaps in the literature, which are addressed in the following subsections.

Most chatbots (we are not talking about AI-based ones) are rather simple and their main goal is to answer common questions. Hence, when a patient starts asking about a rare condition or names symptoms that a bot was not trained to recognize, it leads to frustration on both sides. A bot doesn’t have an answer and a patient is confused and annoyed as they didn’t get help. So in case you have a simple bot and don’t want your patients to complain about its insufficient knowledge, either invest in a smarter bot or simply add an option to connect with a medical professional for more in-depth advice. If patients have started filling out an intake form or pre-appointment form on your website but did not complete it, send them a reminder with a chatbot.

This category also includes ethical and safety concerns encompassing the need to maintain transparency with users about the chatbot being a nonhuman agent and ensuring ethical standards in patient interactions. Therefore, the objectives of this review are to bridge these existing knowledge gaps. This endeavor will offer a more holistic and nuanced understanding of chatbots in the health care sector, addressing critical areas overlooked in previous studies. For example, healthcare chatbots can be programmed to only answer questions pre-approved by doctors and other medical professionals to avoid giving out misleading information.

Human-like interaction with chatbots seems to have a positive contribution to supporting health and well-being [27] and countering the effects of social exclusion through the provision of companionship and support [49]. However, in other domains of use, concerns over the accuracy of AI symptom checkers [22] framed the relationships with chatbot interfaces. The trustworthiness and accuracy of information were factors in people abandoning consultations with diagnostic chatbots [28], and there is a recognized need for clinical supervision of the AI algorithms [9]. One study found that any effect was limited to users who were already contemplating such change [24], and another study provided preliminary evidence for a health coach in older adults [31]. Another study reported finding no significant effect on supporting problem gamblers despite high completion rates [40]. In the light of the huge growth in the deployment of chatbots to support public health provision, there is pressing need for research to help guide their strategic development and application [13].

A chatbot can offer a safe space to patients and interact in a positive, unbiased language in mental health cases. Mental health chatbots like Woebot, Wysa, and Youper are trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which helps to treat problems by transforming the way patients think and behave. At Massachusetts General Hospital, a new AI chatbot for healthcare is undergoing tests. This tool is designed to explore scientific articles, offering results in a conversational format. The bot is cited to save time in research, thus enhancing patient-doctor interactions.

With AI technology, chatbots can answer questions much faster – and, in some cases, better – than a human assistant would be able to. Chatbots can also be programmed to recognize when a patient needs assistance the most, such as in the case of an emergency or during a medical crisis when someone needs to see a doctor right away. In this blog post, we’ll explore the key benefits and use cases of healthcare chatbots and why healthcare companies should invest in chatbots right away. Studies on the use of chatbots for mental health, in particular anxiety and depression, also seem to show potential, with users reporting positive outcomes on at least some of the measurements taken [33,34,41]. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the chatbot solution protects sensitive consumer data, encrypts messages, and securely transmits identifiable patient information to other secure systems (e.g., electronic health record software).

Our team of experienced developers and consultants have the skills and knowledge necessary to develop tailored applications that match your needs. With the help of NLP, AI chatbots enable medical staff to quickly gather and analyze Chat GPT patient medical data. AI chatbots have the capability to harness multimodal interfaces, seamlessly merging voice commands, text inputs, and visual cues to facilitate more comprehensive and engaging communication experiences.

Thus, further studies are needed need to improve the interpretation of natural-speaking language and the accuracy and pertinence of the delivered answer. He has got more than 6 years of experience in handling the task related to Customer Management https://chat.openai.com/ and Project Management. Apart from his profession he also has keen interest in sharing the insight on different methodologies of software development. Once again, go back to the roots and think of your target audience in the context of their needs.

From patient care to intelligent use of finances, its benefits are wide-ranging and make it a top priority in the Healthcare industry. Emergency Response chatbots are designed to assist people during medical emergencies. They can help patients by providing life-saving information, such as how to perform CPR or manage a bleeding wound. By providing immediate assistance, these chatbots can help people take action quickly, potentially saving lives. They can also offer advice on mental health and provide resources for managing mental health conditions.

We hope that the findings from the manuscript will aid researchers, engineers, health professionals, funders, and policy makers in their future implementation of chatbot technology to facilitate innovative and efficient health care systems. Healthcare chatbots implementing the above use cases bring about many cost- and time-saving benefits for the providers. Chatbots in healthcare are predicted to become a primary channel for customer service by 2027 in a quarter of all businesses. The COVID-19 era was a testament to the need for chatbots in Healthcare more than ever. Chatbots were implemented across different industries, from E-commerce to Healthcare, to cater to all patient queries and provide them with personalized care.

A chatbot is a computer program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing to understand customer questions and automate responses to them, simulating human conversation [1]. ChatGPT, a general-purpose chatbot created by startup OpenAI on November 30, 2022, has become a widely used tool on the internet. They can help automate routine tasks that take up unnecessary time and manpower.

This theme refers to health services offered at a distance as an alternative or complement to the usual on-site modes of care delivery. It includes 3 categories and 7 subcategories of roles, with 158 (98.1%) of the 161 studies contributing to this theme. Our search was limited to records published in English, as suggested by the Cochrane rapid reviews guide [80], from 2017 to 2023. This time frame was chosen based on preliminary searches that indicated that the largest number of relevant articles was published during this period [81]. Furthermore, it allowed us to focus on chatbots incorporating more recent technological advancements. The use of chatbots has become so widespread that even some doctors are using them as an alternative way to communicate with their patients.

Healthcare chatbots help patients avoid unnecessary tests and costly treatments, guiding them through the system more effectively. Depending on the specific use case scenario, chatbots possess various levels of intelligence and have datasets of different sizes at their disposal. If patients are considering a procedure, the chatbot can offer videos and other educational resources. Patients take in this information at their own pace and ask questions as they go — something that’s not always possible during an appointment.

It revolutionizes the quality of patient experience by attending to your patient’s needs instantly. Here are the four ‘Cs’ tactics for further productive use of chatbots in healthcare. Kaiser Permanente’s AI chatbot aids patients in navigating their treatment options.

It uses natural language processing to engage its users in positive and understanding conversations from anywhere at any time. Train chatbots for specific scenarios, integrate natural language processing and offer escalation paths to human specialists. A patient engagement chatbot provides constant assistance, answering queries and offering guidance at any time. The bot plays a vital role in keeping individuals connected to their care providers.

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Poor training and lack of reliable data can make the chatbot provide inaccurate or even unethical information. It’s crucial to invest in robust NLP models and continuously train the chatbot using diverse datasets. Stay on board with us and learn what makes a healthcare chatbot great and how to make this software long-lasting. Leveraging blockchain technology can bolster patient data’s security, accuracy, and confidentiality. Chatbots could employ decentralized and transparent data storage systems, promoting trust and adherence to privacy regulations. Our client, K Health, connects patients with medical specialists through an AI-powered, data-driven platform.

While our research centers on chatbots, we have chosen to use the number of studies, rather than the chatbots themselves, as the basis for presenting most of our results. This approach accounts for the diverse adaptations to the identified chatbots across different contexts. Many of the chatbots we studied were modified to serve varied roles; cater to different user groups; and, in some cases, were given entirely different names in separate studies, as indicated in the Results section. Importantly, we noticed that a given study could contribute to multiple categories, indicating the flexible and interconnected characteristics of chatbot roles, users, benefits, or limitations.

Artificial intelligence allows doctors to communicate with patients in any language they choose, even if they do not speak English well or at all. This makes it easier for patients to manage their health and schedule appointments. Chatbots are also becoming more common in hospitals, where they answer basic questions about medications and treatment options.

The healthcare industry deals with an ocean of data – patient reports, medical histories, doctor notes, insurance data, and several others. Figureheads in the healthcare industry have adopted AI chatbot applications to improve efficiency, and they have witnessed positive results. AI chatbots, with their plethora of applications, have transformed the healthcare landscape into an efficient machine, working tirelessly towards creating a patient-centric healthcare model. Another advantage is the use of AI chatbots for constant monitoring of patient’s health status. They can track vital signs such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, heart rate, etc., and immediately alert medical professionals in case of abnormalities.

Many healthcare experts have realized that chatbots help with minor conditions, but the technology needs to advance to replace visits with healthcare professionals. The inability to record all the personal details linked with the user may result in procedural mistakes, raising penalties and new ethical issues. For all their apparent insight into how a user feels, they are machines and can’t show empathy. Healthcare organizations require a lot of time and resources for their administrative and managerial work. These can be saved with chatbots handling repetitive tasks of reviewing insurance claims, appointment scheduling, analyzing test results, etc. Medical chatbots can improve care quality, patient satisfaction, revenue growth, and other aspects of healthcare delivery.

Although the possible advantages are many, digital entrepreneurs and healthcare leaders should be aware of some challenges to make sure the best possible results for healthcare agencies and clients. A company can utilize chatbots for sending files to new employees whenever required, reminding new employees automatically for finishing their forms, and automating several other jobs like requests for maternity leave, vacation time, and more. It also increases revenue as the reduction in the consultation periods and hospital waiting lines leads healthcare institutions to take in and manage more patients. Physicians worry about how their patients might look up and try cures mentioned on dubious online sites, but with a chatbot, patients have a dependable source to turn to at any time. This strategic move will position your organization to deliver superior care quality, today and in the future. The last but not the least function of assistants we’re covering is their role in training new employees.

Still, chatbot solutions for the healthcare sector can enable productivity, save time, and increase profits where it matters most. Algorithms are continuously learning, and more data is being created daily in the repositories. It might be wise for businesses to take advantage of such an automation opportunity. For most healthcare providers, scheduling questions account for the lion’s share of incoming patient inquiries. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. In this case, introducing a chatbot saves patients from filling out dozens of forms and simplifies the entire booking process.