Chatbots

Chatbots have become increasingly common, especially in the private sector where the advancements of the AI-driven technology means that chatbots can understand complex sentences as well as integrate with other systems. In order for chatbots to work properly in the healthcare sector, they must be able to give clinically valid answers.

The chatbot had be able to answer the patient group’s most frequent questions, and if in doubt, forward the enquiry to a healthcare professional or refer the patient to other contact options.

AIM

This project aimed to examine the potential of AI-based chatbots in the healthcare sector, starting with patients with endometriosis who are in contact with the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at Odense University Hospital (OUH).

The project had three phases:

1. Uncover the wishes from patients and healthcare professionals for the chatbot and what they need in order to trust the technology.
2. Develop and test the chatbot in co-operation with patients and healthcare professionals. The technical development was run by the Region of Southern Denmark's IT department and the company SupWiz.
3. Collection of the patients’ experiences within parameters such as user friendliness, relevancy of the answers, language, trust and to which degree the chatbots may replace other ways of searching for answers.

If successful, the solution would provide the patients with immediate answers and reduce the load on the staff, who often answer many identical questions on the phone or chat in the app My Hospital. 

RESULTS

The chatbot has been implemented at the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics' webpage.

PARTNERS

The project was a cooperative effort between the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at OUH, CIMT, CAI-X (Centre for Clinical Artificial Intelligence) and Regional IT of the Region of Southern Denmark.

The project involved artificial intelligence and was therefore also stationed at the Centre for Clinical Artificial Intelligence (CAI-X).