Health Care Chatbots Are Here to Help

Abstract

Say hello to molly, Florence, and Ada-they're just a few of the helpful, smart algorithm powered chatbots taking their place in health care. Chatbots are computer programs designed to carry on a dialogue with people, assisting them via text messages, applications, or instant messaging. Essentially, instead of having a conversation with a person, the user talks with a bot that's powered by basic rules or artificial intelligence. Chatbots are already widely used to support, expedite, and improve processes in other industries, such as retail, and now, the technology is gaining traction in health care, where it is helping patients and providers perform myriad tasks.