AI chatbots are making waves when it comes to healthcare. Healthcare is a demanding profession because unhealthy patients are demanding. When people are sick, they want to know why and how they can get better. Infections left unattended can turn deadly. And broken legs do not just heal themselves back into perfect condition. With more than seven billion people on the planet, that is an overwhelming number of people who need medical attention on any given day. With such a demand, healthcare providers are looking to ease the stress and simplify the process. And AI chatbots are looking to be just the solution.

AI Chatbots Turn toward Healthcare

Babylon Health is a startup company in the United Kingdom. According to Babylon Health’s website, they help people worldwide find help to their healthcare needs. As their website asks users, “Not feeling yourself? Chat to Babylon. You can ask quick questions, send photos and get useful advice from real doctors, from anywhere in the world.” Through the app, people can get real-time solutions to medical questions.

If you have a headache, let the Babylon app know, and it will walk you through a series of questions to figure out what might be best for you to do. If you still have questions or concerns, you can video chat with medical professionals. The app can even deliver prescribed medicine to a pharmacy or to your door.

AI Chatbots Help Patients

With rising costs of health insurance, going to see a doctor for every little health concern can be problematic. But healthcare is important, and this AI chatbot application provides real answers to your health questions and concerns so you can get the help you need when you need it, and can hopefully cut back on some of the cost.

Babylon Health is not the only AI chatbot being used in healthcare. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have created a AI chatbot to help patients with interventional radiology care. Their AI chatbot, called Virtual Interventional Radiologist (VIR), allow physicians to provide their patients with real-time information on interventional radiology procedures. The VIR will also allow physicians to help their patients plan the steps of their treatment.

AI Chatbots Help Medical Providers

These types of technology can provide an incredible resource to doctors and nurses. For example, if they examining a patient, they can send a message to the chatbot, to which the chatbot responds using scientific-based health-related literature and evidence-based clinical guidelines.

While these applications provide value service to the healthcare community, they are not meant to replace doctors and regular consultations. AI chatbots and similar technology are constantly improving. AI chatbots have the advantage to develop through use and experimentation, and as they do, they can provide more value to healthcare. Ali Parsa, Babylon Health founder, says that his goal with this technology is to provide healthcare professionals the technology and means to perform their jobs to their full potential. The better that doctors and medical providers can work and receive the information they need, the more they can help their patients in their healthcare needs.