A Comprehensive Guide on Healthcare Chatbots

Medical Chatbots are artificial intelligence-driven conversational systems that make communication easier. Obtaining the patient's medical information expedites the procedure and improves efficiency. These bots can also help procure relevant healthcare data available to the appropriate user at the right time, which can be life-saving.

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What is a Healthcare Chatbot?

In 2018, the global healthcare Chatbots market was worth $116.9 million, and by 2026, it is predicted to be worth $345.3 million, with a CAGR of 14.5 percent from 2019 to 2026.In 1966, Weizenbaum built ELIZA, the first conversational agent, who played the role of a person-centered Rogerian psychotherapist. Patients who spoke with the conversational robot had a positive experience, making this a game-changing contribution to the area of AI.

A Chatbots is a sort of artificial intelligence system that is one of the most basic and widely utilized types of intelligent human-computer interaction (HCI). It is a type of computer software that, when spoken to through chat input, responds as if it were an intelligent being that knows one or Natural Language Processing (NLP).

Medical Chatbots are artificial intelligence-driven conversational systems that make communication easier. Obtaining the patient's medical information expedites the procedure and improves efficiency. These bots can also help procure relevant healthcare data available to the appropriate user at the right time, which can be life-saving. Furthermore, healthcare Chatbots may automate all lower-level and repetitive duties that would normally be performed by a representative, allowing patients to get support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Patients can avoid waiting for hours in a queue for a person to respond to their questions by using a Chatbot.

A New Revolution - Chatbots Assistance

In this age of digitization, Conversational AI Chatbots handle delivery, refund, and other FAQ queries, seek feedback, and enable tailored cross-selling and up-selling. According to a poll, over half of the customers are willing to buy things via a Chatbots. We cannot argue that Chatbots have totally replaced humans in all customer care roles, but they are rapidly replacing them. With the progress of technology, particularly AI, it is difficult to tell if you are dealing with a human person or a programmed program.

Customer Assistance is Available 24/7

Artificial intelligence powers Chatbots, eliminate the need for human employees to conduct customer support. They interact with consumers on the front lines and strive to answer as many questions as possible. Customers are provided with human assistance in case of further inquiries

Instantaneous Reaction

Chatbots are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer user questions. They deliver solutions with breakneck speed, which delights clients and expedites their decision-making. Customer gets zero to no waiting time

Customer Satisfaction has Improved

Chatbots are are there to assist consumers in a non-intrusive manner. Chatbots are personable and customizable. They recall previous discussions, learn from them, keep themselves up to speed, and assist consumers accordingly

Increased Output and Efficiency

Chatbots respond to consumer questions and direct customers to service agents when they are unable to offer answers in complex situations, necessitating human intervention. They are competent in dealing with routine and everyday questions

Simple to Use

Chatbots are simple to create and deploy. Button replies save visitors time and energy by eliminating the need to type an answer. Chatbots provide a common interface that may be linked to other platforms such as Facebook

Trusted by Many Sectors

Say for instance it is to please the regional customers, make sure to carry out a survey of what the locals are in need of. Analyze the potential use for the Chatbots.

Decide After Analyzing Your Requirements

There is a wide range of sophistication in bots. Identifying a particular need where you can provide a lot of value may allow you to construct a simple, Q&A type bot with far less cost and complexity than a more complicated bot

Improving the Quality of the Chatbots

Make it as user friendly and efficient as possible.

Increase the Security

The finance and healthcare sector of Chatbots focuses heavily on security features.

Make sure to incorporate all the latest features on the Chatbots and keep it updated.

Advantages of Using a Chatbot a Consumer's Favourite

According to a survey, 86% of the patients reported that instead of filling out a website form, it's easier for them to obtain an answer from a Chatbots. With the help of Chatbots, patients may approach practitioners at any time, even during a pandemic, owing to healthcare Chatbots. Patients could easily obtain healthcare in an emergency by using Conversational AI in the healthcare business, regardless of where they are situated.

There has been a significant growth of Chatbots for healthcare services, and people should know about the advantages of using a Chatbots.

For the Patients

  • It keeps the patient updated about the surgery dates, timetables, and appointments on a regular basis by sending text messages or email. These also provide automatic reminders to take medications, offer patients health-related advice, and deliver critical medical information. The Chatbots also helped during the vaccination drives in many countries by booking a slot and finding oxygen cylinders and important medicines.
  • It keeps the patient engaged and responds immediately. Patients are never left alone with Chatbots. They gain patients' trust by responding quickly and efficiently. For example, in a hospital, there is always awaiting time before the considered authority responds, while in this case, the Chatbots responds immediately. Chatbots play a critical role in ensuring patient happiness and overall satisfaction. Whenever a person needs medical help, he/she grows rather impatient. Thus, the wait results in increased anxiety and nervousness for the patient. A Chatbots feels like an all-time assistant ready to help whenever and wherever needed.
  • It is a hectic job for a patient to keep his/her medical health report safe. When a patient returns a week later, therapists frequently ask for earlier documentation, which is one of the most common challenges in the healthcare industry. Unfortunately, patients often fail to bring documentation, resulting in a distorted picture of the patient's progress.
  • Chatbots assist service providers in keeping track of patient information through conversations or last calls. The patient could easily communicate or book an appointment with his/her choice of doctor, medical expert, and the nurse just by using a device. Apart from improving the accuracy of diagnosing symptoms, post-recovery treatment, preventative care, and feedback procedures, they may significantly improve proficiency.

For the Hospital and the Doctors

  • Frequent inquiries overburden and occupy the medical support personnel, causing them to miss out on other patients. In this circumstance, the queue for an agent's basic questions becomes quite long. Chatbots, on the other hand, answer inquiries in seconds, improving customer experience and reducing staff strain. Chatbots help people save time that would otherwise be spent getting to the hospital. Chatbots are advantageous to doctors since they can access patients' medical records in seconds. In an emergency, they may also verify medicines and recent check-up data promptly. Although Chatbots cannot replace physicians, they can aid patients and provide answers to their issues, reducing their workload.
  • Hospitals and private clinics employ healthcare Chatbots to evaluate and clerk patients prior they attend the consultation room. These bots ask pertinent questions regarding the patients' symptoms and provide automated replies in order to provide the doctor with a proper history.

For the Society

  • Due to the presence of chatbots, it is easier to get a statistical record for the year or month of people from a specified region which benefits the society as a whole. Doctors and researches have can get the required data easily to conduct their surveys on people's health from a specified region. During Covid, it was easier to identify a containment zone by looking at the statistics that we get from the records on the chatbots.

Chatbots Before, During and After Covid

According to the paper published by the National Library on Medicine on Conversational Agents in Healthcare, it is reported conversational agents have been widely used in a variety of sectors. But their application in health care is still in its infancy. The research findings show that much of the material has only recently been published (2016-2018). The majority of conversational agents employed text input was machine learning-based and was provided through the mobile app. The three most often mentioned themes in the health care conversational agent research were treatment and monitoring, health services help, and health care. The results of the experiments examining conversational agents were generally good, with the conversational agent indicating efficacy, accuracy, and acceptance. The majority of the health care conversational agents employed machine learning and had long-term goals. This implies that conversational bots are progressing from simple transactional jobs to more sophisticated end objectives like long-term disease care as well as behavioral modification.

By 2019 there was an immense growth of healthcare Chatbots users. People tended to trust and depend on Chatbots more by 2020 when the entire world was under the grip of the pandemic. There was an intense shortage of doctors and medical staff. Several conversational assistants helped people in tracking symptoms and booking tests as well. To better serve patients, medical practitioners are continually collaborating with Chatbots companies. The typical patient spends roughly 30 minutes looking for the correct service that their local hospital can deliver, while the average nurse spends one hour per day attempting to connect with the right doctor.

Current Marketspace for Chatbots

According to the paper published by the National Library on Medicine on Conversational Agents in Healthcare, it is reported conversational agents have been widely used in a variety of sectors. But their application in health care is still in its infancy. The research findings show that much of the material has only recently been published (2016-2018). The majority of conversational agents employed text input was machine learning-based and was provided through the mobile app. The three most often mentioned themes in the health care conversational agent research were treatment and monitoring, health services help, and health care. The results of the experiments examining conversational agents were generally good, with the conversational agent indicating efficacy, accuracy, and acceptance. The majority of the health care conversational agents employed machine learning and had long-term goals. This implies that conversational bots are progressing from simple transactional jobs to more sophisticated end objectives like long-term disease care as well as behavioral modification.

Source: Markets and Markets Analysis

Note: Tier 1 companies comprise the overall annual revenue of >USD 10 billion; tier 2 companies' revenue ranges in between USD 1 and 10 billion; and tier 3 companies' revenue ranges in between USD 500 million-USD 1 billion

*Others include sales managers, marketing managers, and product managers.

The Chatbots market was valued at USD 17.17 billion in 2020, and it is projected to reach USD 102.29 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 34.75% over the forecast period, 2021 - 2026. Because of developments in AI technologies such as deep neural networks, pattern recognition, and others, the use of automated systems is on the rise. Chatbots and voice assistants are examples of automated systems that are employed in a wide range of industries, including commerce, BFSI, and medical. Because of the requirement for speed, trust, and communication, the banking sector, for example, has been a big adopter of developing technologies. Several startups in the Asia-Pacific area are investing in Chatbots and deep learning technologies.

For the Society

Because of the numerous benefits provided by various types of Chatbots, the cloud-based sector captured the largest share and is expected to grow at the quickest rate throughout the predicted period. Cloud-based Chatbots, for example, need a less initial investment, are more accessible, and require less customization than onpremise Chatbots.

On-premise Chatbots are easier to customize than cloud-based Chatbots when it comes to customization. Furthermore, with on-premise Chatbots, there is no need to rely on the supplier for continuing maintenance and support. On-premise Chatbots are expected to lead in terms of implementation. Cloud-based Chatbots provide a number of profit options based on use and business needs. On-premise Chatbots, on the other hand, involve a one-time investment cost as well as continuing support costs. Medical diagnostics, customer support and administration, psychological health, health and well-being, patient participation, and other applications make up the Chatbots sector in healthcare. Based on application, the Chatbots market in healthcare is divided into healthcare emergency, client service and management, psychological health, health and fitness, patient involvement, and others. Other categories include clinical trials, medical reminders, Chatbots in research, and Chatbots in medical operations.

Market Trends

According to Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. (U.S.) research published in May 2017, roughly half of smartphone users obtain health information using mobile apps; 36% of physicians feel apps are the most effective way to engage with patients, and 90% of medics believe mobile applications may enhance health.

The market for healthcare Chatbots solutions will rise due to improved internet connectivity and the growing penetration of smart devices. Rising internet connectivity and the increasing popularity of smartphones and mobile platforms are important factors in assuring Chatbots acceptance and utilization. This has assured that an increasing number of customers have access to healthcare services while also considerably expanding the scope of such services. Artificial intelligence advancements are primarily to blame for the global healthcare Chatbots market's rise.

This is largely due to the use of more complicated and advanced Chatbots operations that are incredibly creative when it comes to interacting with clients seeking healthcare services. According to primary research, the Healthcare Chatbots market is anticipated to be valued at around USD 184.60 Million in 2021 and USD 431.47 Million by 2028. Based on region, Asia-Pacific is expected to lead the global Healthcare Chatbots market.

Attractive Opportunities in the Chatbot Market

The progress of artificial intelligence technology promotes the growth of the healthcare Chatbots industry. Artificial intelligence breakthroughs are a major driver of growth in the global healthcare Chatbots industry. This is due mostly to the employment of more complex and advanced Chatbots methods that are incredibly creative in interacting with clients seeking healthcare services. With the increasing need for automation in healthcare sectors, the usage of Chatbots to improve online efficiency in terms of dealing with customer queries and customer retention is growing. In the near future, this is projected to exhibit a significantly favorable growth curve for healthcare Chatbots. Many healthcare companies' businesses are increasing by utilizing Chatbots services in a variety of ways.

Healthcare Companies Using Chatbots Assistance

Chatbots are now becoming essential tools, no matter what sector it is. We, in fact, use Chatbots even without knowing that those are Chatbots in our daily lives. Healthcare Chatbots top the industries which use Chatbots for efficiency.

Babylon Health

Started in the year 2013 this British healthcare service is one of the leading online healthcare services of UK. They used AI powered technology is used for storing a person’s medical history and scheduling live online consultation with top medical professionals. The U.K National Health Service (NHS) took help of it in 2017.

John Hopkins Hospital

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and IBM Research launched a brand new healthcare chatbot on July 1, 2021 to overcome COVID-19 vaccination reluctance. The chatbot named Vira, attempts to reach out to vaccine-hesitant people, particularly young adults from neighborhoods disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

UCLA Health Hospitals

University of California Health Hospital is one of the leading hospitals of all time in America. It provides premiere healthcare services. It also uses a chatbot under the same name ‘UCLA Health’ for better reach of the healthcare service they provide. The UCLA medical centre also uses a chatbot called VIR ( Virtual Interventional Radiologist) for helping patients with their radiology treatment and follow ups.

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool

This childcare hospital uses 'Ask Oli,' a chatbot for smooth functioning of the medical processes. This chatbot uses the hospital's iconic elephant as its mascot. Ask Oli engages and answers questions in real time, lowering patient and family and that of their children’s concerns in a creative and entertaining way. This was launched for better personalized treatment, for better healthcare services, mass reach and customer satisfaction.

Apollo Hospitals

Apollo Hospitals, one of the leading hospital chains in India, uses a Chatbots for efficiency. This Apollo Hospitals project is an interactive patient-centric service that allows people to contact a doctor at their leisure, anywhere, and at any time. You may also arrange an appointment, get a quick consultation with a family doctor, food and nutrition advice, and consult with a specialist/board of specialists based on the severity of the disease.

PharmEasy

PharmEasy, one of India's most popular pharmaceutical e-commerce platforms along with MediBuddy and Apollo, efficiently connects patients with local pharmacies and diagnostic institutes. In only five years, the platform has serviced over 5 million consumers thanks to a sleek mobile app and user-friendly website. In India's e-pharmacy market, it has the highest average order value. The e-Pharmacy sector experienced an extraordinary rise in demand when the epidemic prompted a statewide lockdown. Without any human interaction, PharmEasy's self-service achieves a 45 percent ticket deflection rate. Customers will spend less time waiting for an agent to react to their inquiries as a result of this. After effectively implementing its self-service strategy, PharmEasy saw a 50% decrease in support expenditures per order.

SingHealth and A* Star, Singapore

On 24th June, 2020, they launched a platform called ‘Doctor Covid’ for better care for COVID affected patients in community care services. The Doctor Covid chatbot had numerous features such as native language incorporation, better communication, proper interaction with patients and overall support to the medical teams by closely looking after the health conditions of the patients.

Why Kommunicate?

The motto of Kommunicate revolves around the fact that we build AI Chatbots without code, generate more leads, and improve customer experience. While most Chatbots lack emotional connect, Kommunicate brings in a new trend where the customers get to realize the best of both AI and human touch. Leading organizations and developing startups throughout the world rely on Kommunicate. We have partnered with companies such as Bluestacks, HDFC Life, Vakil Search, VOGO, Unicaja, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and many more.

The impeccable impact of customer support automation using Kommunicate saw a growth of 11 % jump in customer conversations, 83% of doubts were resolved without human involvement, saved around 8 hours and 31 minutes for an average person daily, and they saw a 300% reduction in average resolution time. Let’s look at the products we deliver:

Gives the customers the best of automation and human touch

It is deemed truly scoreless bot integration to lead customer support automation. For the best customer experience, we offer seamless bot-to-human handoff. We do not stay limited to plain automated texts. Rather we provide better engagement with rich messaging.

Kompose

We allow easy usage of Chatbots builder where one can create one’s own Chatbots. The procedure is simplified by a simple, intuitive, and simple-to-use layout wrapped with sophisticated conversational AI. We create robust NLF support bots and conversational processes without using any code. We help to create bots that can qualify leads, schedule and conduct meetings, and finally support the customers 24/7.

Easy management of all the customer conversations easily from one powerful and well-equipped dashboard

We can manage customer conversations via bots, social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Line, live chat, and many more. We can sell and support more effectively by using user information, events, and conversation history. We are power-packed with powerful analytics for both humans and bots, and they provide AI-powered intent insights.

A trust to empower the sales, marketing, and customer support teams with live chat

As we know, nothing beats live chat when it comes to user experience. It is much faster than mail, and unlike a phone, Live Chat doesn't put customers on hold. We build meaningful relationships, provide personalized service and increase customer LTV. Around 73% of the users prefer Live Chat over other modes of customer support.  A ton of customization options to fine-tune the chats according to the brand image and requirements can be achieved easily with Kommunicate.

Kommunicate - The Leading Healthcare Chatbot Service

World's leading healthcare brands and hospital groups have trusted Kommunicate, such as Amref Health Africa, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute, AMGEN, Mannatech, OC Health Care Agency, and many more. These Chatbots help to increase and automate the healthcare experience, digitize communication for doctors, simplify operations for the organizations, and create a full-fledged platform for managing customer support for healthcare organizations.

Chatbots, which are computer programs or intelligent algorithms that conduct conversations via oral or written techniques, are becoming increasingly popular and prevalent. A computerized personal assistant or a Chatbots might aid physicians, nurses, patients, or their families in a variety of ways. Better patient route organization, prescription management, assistance in emergency circumstances or with first aid, and providing a solution for basic medical difficulties are all scenarios where Chatbots might step in and relieve the strain on medical workers.

In this growing market of Healthcare Chatbots, Kommunicate provides its unique services of AI, which many leading companies in the healthcare sector have already used. Kommunicate. We provide conversational AI in healthcare and health tech. A secure, private and hyper-personalized solution that aims to improve patient-doctor communication and engagement in healthcare organizations.

The essential features that Kommunicate healthcare Chatbots provide are as follows:

1. An Improved and Automated Healthcare Experience

As we know, health is of utmost importance for anybody in the world, and we strive to deliver nothing but the best. Healthcare being of utmost importance does not necessarily have to be an inconvenient process. It provides the patient with a better experience using automation.

  • Using AI Chatbots that are available 24X7. Medical emergencies can occur at any time; thus, a service needs to be available at your fingertips so that your patients can reach you seamlessly.
  • Easy appointment scheduling and management could be done with the help of Kommunicate Chatbots.
  • Hyper personalized patient interaction with an opportunity to save the patient’s records.
  • A very private and secure platform for sensitive information. For instance, often, mental health issues involve a high amount of personal emotions, which are best kept under wraps. Kommunicate helps to arrange for doctor sessions that are 100% safe and secure.
  • Getting the basic health concerns answered without human help. During Covid-19, the medics were busy taking care of critically sick patients. The healthcare Chatbots helped to answer the other concerns of various patients who were at home due to their mild symptoms. There were set parameters that raised the alarm if the patient needed to go to the hospital and also helped in finding hospital beds, medicines, and oxygen cylinders. Kommunicate Chatbots help people get the basic requirements fulfilled.

2. Digitizing Communication for Doctors

We provide the doctors, nurses, and other medical staff with needed automation tools so that they can concentrate better on serving the patients and providing them with better care.

  • Better access to patient history for better diagnosis. The doctor finds it much easier to treat the patient if the records are collected properly. Kommunicate stores the patient's records so that it helps the medics.
  • Collecting patient feedback. It becomes easier for the patient for the services he/she availed of. The reviews help the other patient to look for better doctors.
  • Facilitating preventive healthcare becomes easier with Kommunicate. They provide awareness to diabetic patients, patients with respiratory diseases or blood pressure, or any other deadly or lifelong diseases.
  • Provides live interaction with patients. For better healthcare services, live interaction of patients is necessary with the doctors or the medical caregivers.
  • Provides wellness and mental health guidance. Often during a mental breakdown, one finds oneself detached from the entire world. An instant help would be provided with Kommunicate Chatbots.

3. Simplify Operations for Your Organization

We use a technique of human and Chatbots combination system, which helps to escalate issues. A fully managed platform for healthcare organizations helps to handle live chat conversations.

  • Automatic Chatbots to doctor handoff. This becomes easier for the doctors as well. They can work efficiently.
  • Handoff to doctors on request. In case of severe emergencies and on the demands of the patients, this is easily accessible.
  • Unified Chatbots and live chat widget. They help in the smooth functioning of the system and act as a bridge of communication.
  • Live interactions dashboard to manage conversations. Makes the patients or consumers feel much more than just an AI-supported work.
  • Accessing FAQs becomes easier and creating a medical information repository.
  • Improved Security
  • Kommunicate healthcare chatbot uses  top security system that helps to keep the patient’s data, health records and conversation with the doctors safe and secured. This is the reason that it is trusted by many in medical industry such as Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute, AMGEN, Mannatech and many more.
  • Efficient and Easy to Use
  • Kommunicate chatbot is easy to use. With simple functions which even a kid understand you can get to the desired output. The layout is made in such a way that it is pleasing to the eyes and interactive. Kommunicate stands for its efficiency and effectiveness.

Kommunicate is a customer support automation platform that allows you to communicate with your customers across several channels. It enables you to construct AI-powered Chatbots, record and track leads, and generate FAQs to improve client self-service. It also connects to CRMs and e-commerce systems, among other things, allowing for data interchange. To improve your productivity, it can also route talks to the appropriate agent and automatically detect dormant chats. To make the most of all client encounters, Kommunicate provides comprehensive messaging templates. You may use Kommunicate to integrate chat widgets into your apps and to install the platform on your website. The company has been awarded the 'Rising Star Company' and 'Great User Experience Award'; thus, there is trust between the user and the Chatbots created by Kommunicate.