AI chatbots in healthcare - how they enhance medical websites

As the world of digital technology advances and more industries adopt AI-powered solutions in their processes, healthcare providers also take notice and implement an efficient and affordable solution on their websites - AI chatbots. In this article, we’ll cover the benefits and use cases of web AI chatbots that offer a win-win situation for both providers and patients.

A quick review of AI chatbots and their growing importance in healthcare

Many patients in various regions struggle to get an appointment or navigate multiple internet pages to understand their symptoms or obtain needed information. Chatbots can make these processes easier due to the following benefits:

• Remote consultations for patients
• FAQ handling for medical staff
• Medication reminders and dosage tracking
• Appointment scheduling
• Emotional support for mental health issues
• 24/7 availability

Speaking from the business perspective, there’s one more reason why the adoption of AI chatbots in healthcare is growing - it helps reduce overhead costs. As McKinsey reports, AI in healthcare can automate up to 45% of administrative tasks and save companies nearly $150 billion. These key tasks include appointment scheduling, insurance verification, and patient inquiries. Thus, healthcare providers need a reliable software development partner to design high-performing and secure medical chatbots. Investing in medical website development by SoftTeco can help ensure seamless chatbot functionality, improved user experience, and compliance with industry regulations while contributing to patient care and operational efficiency.

‍

Use cases of AI chatbots in healthcare

Healthcare facilities increasingly use chatbots to make communication among patients, doctors, and staff consistent and smooth. Here are some key use cases of AI chatbots:

Scheduling appointments

Chatbots allow patients to plan and schedule appointments remotely while also freeing staff time to address more complex patient needs. Northwell Health’s AI chatbot is a vivid example, as it has helped reduce the volume of calls by 50%. 

By using medical chatbots one can:

• Find a time slot for an appointment based on the doctor’s availability
• Get notified of the upcoming, missed or cancelled appointments and reschedule them

Assessing symptoms and providing personalized recommendations

The support that chatbots provide for patients doesn’t stop at appointment scheduling only. These AI-powered solutions can also ask specific questions about patients’ conditions or symptoms and provide possible recommendations on treating them before the visit. Or, based on the symptoms, the bot can recommend visiting the doctor and can even help in finding the suitable medication. This helps medical facilities reduce the number of non-urgent visits and take better care of those patients who need timely help. 

‍

AI chatbots can also have access to medical knowledge databases, so they can be valuable helpers for doctors in terms of decision-making and diagnoses. Chatbots can also collect information about patients before the visit, which provides doctors with some pre-appointment insights into patients’ health.

Managing prescriptions

When patients take several drugs, they may find it difficult to remember different schedules and dosages and follow them precisely, which can hinder their adherence to the treatment plan. Chatbots are particularly helpful as they remind individuals to take their medications, track dosages, and monitor side effects and the ways different drugs interact with each other. Patients can also interact with the bot if they have more questions about the dosage or want to specify the potential side effects.

Providing mental health support

Not every patient is ready to seek professional help immediately and entrust their psychological challenges to a human doctor, and not all mental health specialists are available to solve their issues. In this situation, chatbots can also become helpful assistants and provide emotional support and even cognitive behavioral therapy through AI. They can recommend relaxation techniques and offer resources for additional support. A study from Stanford revealed that even with significant loneliness, users felt a robust sense of social support from the chatbot Replika.

‍

Moreover, such bots can link patients to medical professionals in case of urgent problems. This ensures that patients feel confident they will get the help they need and that their concerns will not be ignored. 

Collecting patient feedback

AI bots are also used after a patient has received treatment or a service. The bot’s main purpose in this case is to gather user feedback and patient data. Collecting this information can help businesses provide more personalized care, which, in turn, makes patients happier. That’s why these bots are valuable—they help healthcare organizations assess their services, get to know their patients better, and understand what improvements they can make.

AI in healthcare: main benefits for medical organizations

After considering the use cases of chatbots in medical care, let’s look at the benefits that they provide:

Collecting patient data

Bots are excellent at collecting real-time patient information, such as symptoms, mood, and adherence to medication. This data is crucial because it helps healthcare providers recognize health trends and modify treatments to enhance patient outcomes.

Around-the-clock (24/7) availability

Chatbots are available around the clock to assist patients with their questions and concerns. This reduces waiting times and improves patient experience, making care more seamless and personalized.

Less burden on medical personnel 

AI bots significantly reduce the workload on medical professionals by answering simple questions and frequently asked inquiries by patients. This allows healthcare professionals to prioritize complex tasks while retaining an excellent patient experience.

Saving costs

Chatbots can reduce healthcare costs by alleviating medical staff workloads and enhancing patient care efficiency.

Quick access to medical records

AI bots can access patients’ medical records or collect information provided by patients. As these bots can extract medical information like test results and explain medical terms, patients can easily navigate the information stored on healthcare organization portals without waiting on hold for a medical call centre.

Conclusion 

AI chatbots improve healthcare by simplifying patients' interactions with the system and medical professionals on websites. They help check symptoms, schedule appointments, send medication reminders, and provide mental health support. By automating these tasks, chatbots boost efficiency and increase patient satisfaction.

However, it’s worth noting that these bots cannot replace human doctors. Doctors have the critical thinking skills, ethical judgment, and experience to diagnose and treat complex health issues. They understand symptoms, read test results, and deliver life-saving care. AI cannot replicate the deep empathy and flexibility needed for complex medical decisions. That’s why even though medical website bots make some aspects of healthcare more accessible, only proper collaboration of human professionals and AI technologies can maintain high-quality care for patients.

‍