Do Chatbots Speak Your Patients’ Language?

// By Jim Samuel //

Health systems have used chatbots on their websites for several years, and their usage increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. Now chatbot developers and health systems are looking to expand their use of chatbots into other areas of healthcare. If not implemented correctly, could chatbots increase inequity in our healthcare system?

Just about everyone who has ever visited a company website has encountered a chatbot. Sometimes it appears as if you are interacting with a human through live chat. But other times, it is evident that you are conversing with an automated system.

If, for example, you’ve tried to converse with a chatbot more than once or twice, you’ve probably had the exasperating experience of not being able to make it understand you. Perhaps you asked it a question and the chatbot responded with an unrelated answer. Or maybe your question sent the chatbot into a tizzy, and it just took you back to where you started.

While chatbots can be effective for some uses, they are ineffective for other, more complicated applications. As the use of chatbots increases within the healthcare industry, artificial intelligence’s (AI) ability to understand and interpret what your customers are saying becomes more critical every day.

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