The introduction of artificial intelligence in patient engagement enhancement applications is recently emerging as the next major trend in healthcare technology.
AI (artificial intelligence) has been transforming healthcare ever since the introduction of the technology in the industry. Most existing applications of AI in healthcare primarily focus on the more technical aspects of the healthcare delivery process, such as performing diagnosis and predicting illnesses. And these applications, due to their superhumanly accurate predictive and pattern recognition capabilities, have been extremely beneficial, perhaps even revolutionary in terms of the results they have achieved. An example may be the use of AI to detect cancer in its early stages or the use of deep learning in drug discovery. And now, with the introduction of artificial intelligence in patient engagement applications, the technology is demonstrating its ability to offer personalization and improve the overall patient experience even further.
Following are a few ways in which artificial intelligence is contributing to patient engagement:
Patient portals have been traditionally used by patients to store and access their health records and all their other medical documents. While these portals do offer patients with the information they need, they do not offer this information in a way that would be easily understood by the patients. Patients may have to read through pages of irrelevant information before getting the information they actually want.
The use of AI can provide patients with the information they want in a highly interactive, contextually-relevant, and easy to understand manner. This allows patients to know what they want to without much hassle, improving their experience with the healthcare institution.
Intelligent AI chatbots can be used to offer patients with an interactive platform where they can receive highly personalized health advice. The same functionality can also be achieved with the help of virtual assistants who can be used to offer patients with answers to general medical queries as well as personal condition-based advice and suggestions. These applications can not only help patients with accurate information to help with their conditions but also save time for doctors who can focus on more serious tasks and emergency cases.
The use of artificial intelligence in patient engagement applications may just be in the early stages, but it is already seeing great reception from both medical practitioners and patients. A survey revealed that forty two percent of patients were comfortable with AI-based patient engagement tools. This number will only increase with time to a point where patients may expect AI to be a part of healthcare institutions' patient engagement strategies, and may eventually even demand it. Thus, healthcare administrators should make it a priority to adopt artificial intelligence not just in clinical research and medical diagnosis but also in patient-facing, engagement-enhancing applications.