Artificial Intelligence. The intelligence; of machines; or software. The ability of a computer to perform tasks commonly associated with humans. OMG! Am I from the wrong century? Where’s a wall when you need one to bang your head on? Has the Natural Stupidity of the human race plumbed to such depths that we now need machines to even do what humans ought to be able to do? Yes! A resounding yes. Because Artificial intelligence (AI) is (for now) being deployed to make human life better, revolutionizing many activities and industries, including healthcare. One of the most promising applications of AI in healthcare is chatbots, which are computer programs that can interact with humans using natural language. Basically a robot but like your teenage kids who chat back to you. And almost as well informed, too. They (the Chatbots, not the kids) can provide several benefits to both patients and healthcare professionals, such as improving patient engagement, streamlining administrative tasks, and enhancing decision making.

                In this blog, we will explore some practical use cases of AI-driven chatbots like ChatGPT in healthcare, ranging from answering patient queries to assisting healthcare professionals with information retrieval. ChatGPT is a chatbot that uses a deep neural network model (please feel free to freak out right now, but it does get better) called GPT-3, which is one of the most advanced natural language processing systems in the world. (Okay; NOW you can freak out). ChatGPT can generate fluent and coherent responses to any text input, making it a versatile and powerful tool for creating chatbots. Basically, with GPT-3, when your Chatbot chats with you, you can’t tell that it’s a chatbot chatting with you. 

Use Case 1: Answering Patient Queries

One of the most common use cases of chatbots in healthcare is answering patient queries. Patients often have questions about their health conditions, symptoms, treatments, medications, and more. However, contacting a healthcare provider can be time-consuming, expensive and/or inconvenient. Chatbots can provide a convenient and accessible way for patients to get answers to their questions (at least the ones with basic to medium complexity), anytime and anywhere.

              For example, we can use ChatGPT to create a chatbot that can answer questions about COVID-19, such as preventing infection, what to do if you exhibit symptoms, and where to get tested. ChatGPT can use its natural language comprehension and generation capabilities to understand the patient’s query and provide a relevant and accurate answer, using reliable sources of information, in a grammatical structure that will not appear off-puttingly non-human. In most cases, ChatGPT will also provide links to additional resources, such as websites, videos, or articles, for further information.

Use Case 2: Scheduling Appointments

Patients often need to book appointments with healthcare providers, such as doctors, nurses, dentists, or therapists. However, scheduling appointments can be a tedious and frustrating process, involving phone calls, emails, or online forms. Chatbots can simplify and automate the scheduling process, making it easier and faster for patients and healthcare providers.

              A chatbot created by  ChatGPT can schedule appointments for you with a doctor just as easily as their secretary, and be less unpleasant while doing it. Again, the natural language understanding and generation capabilities of  ChatGPT allow the system to converse with the patient and collect the necessary personal and scheduling related information, check the doctor’s availability and confirm the appointment details with the patient..  In fact, ChatGPT can also send reminders to the patient and the doctor before the appointment, and reschedule or cancel the appointment if needed.

Use Case 3: Assisting Healthcare Professionals with Information Retrieval

In order to serve the patient properly, healthcare professionals need to access various types of information, such as patient records, medical literature, clinical guidelines, or drug information, and chatbots can be quite handy with information retrieval.  Given that locating and retrieving the relevant information can be quite the challenge, especially when the information is scattered across different sources, formats, or languages, Chatbots can do some serious heavy lifting here and support the information retrieval process by providing a natural and intuitive way to query and access the information they need.

                  ChatGPT has the ability to  understand the healthcare professional’s query and provide a relevant and accurate answer, using diverse sources of information. ChatGPT can also provide links to the original sources, such as documents, databases, or websites, for further reference, even summarizing, translating, or visualizing the information, depending on the healthcare professional’s preference. 

Use Case 4: Providing Mental Health Support

Mental health is a vital aspect of well-being; many people struggle with mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma but cannot access professional mental health care as it may be expensive or carry a stigma. Chatbots can provide a low-cost and accessible way for people to access mental health assistance by offering emotional support, coping strategies, or referrals to appropriate services.

                  ChatGPT’s  understanding of natural language structure and the ability to  generate human-like conversations allows it to empathize with the user and understand their emotional state, needs, and goals,  and to provide personalized and helpful suggestions, such as relaxation techniques, positive affirmations, or motivational quotes. ChatGPT can also monitor the user’s progress and follow up with them regularly, or direct them to seek professional help if needed.

Use Case 5: Educating and Training Healthcare Professionals

Healthcare professionals – like professionals in any other field of expertise – need to constantly update their knowledge and skills as new research, technologies, and practices emerge in their line of work. Unfortunately, traditional methods of education and training, such as lectures, textbooks, or workshops, can often prove to be costly, time-consuming, or ineffective. On the other hand, Chatbots can provide a flexible and interactive way for healthcare professionals to learn and train, by offering personalized and adaptive content, feedback, and assessment.

                 For example, Using its language comprehension and regeneration abilities, ChatGPT can try to understand the healthcare professional’s learning objectives, preferences, and desired level; it can  then use its knowledge and creativity to generate relevant and engaging content, such as case studies, quizzes, or simulations. ChatGPT can also provide immediate and constructive feedback, and track and evaluate the healthcare professional’s performance and progress.