Chatbot breakthrough in the 2020s? An ethical reflection on the trend of automated consultations in health care PMC
Furthermore, we were unable to extract data regarding the number of app downloads for the Apple iOS store, only the number of ratings. This resulted in the drawback of not being able to fully understand the geographic distribution of healthbots across both stores. These data are not intended to quantify the penetration of healthbots globally, but are presented to highlight the broad global reach of such interventions. Another limitation stems from the fact that in-app purchases were not assessed; therefore, this review highlights features and functionality only of apps that are free to use. Lastly, our review is limited by the limitations in reporting on aspects of security, privacy and exact utilization of ML. While our research team assessed the NLP system design for each app by downloading and engaging with the bots, it is possible that certain aspects of the NLP system design were misclassified.
This lack of resources is especially evident in low-income and middle-income countries where there are 0.1 psychiatrists per 1,000,000 people [7], compared to 90 psychiatrists per 1,000,000 people in high-income countries [8]. According to the World Health Organization, mental health services reach 15% and 45% of those in need in developing and developed countries, respectively [9]. This could be a major factor contributing to the increase in suicidal behavior in recent decades [10]. Let’s explore a few different uses of ChatGPT in the healthcare sector and discuss the benefits that this revolutionary technology offers to patients, doctors, and researchers.
Top Health Chatbots That Make Patients’ Life Better
This was made possible through deep learning algorithms in combination with the increasing availability of databases for the tasks of detection, segmentation, and classification [57]. For example, Medical Sieve (IBM Corp) is a chatbot that examines radiological images to aid and communicate with cardiologists and radiologists to identify issues quickly and reliably [24]. Similarly, InnerEye (Microsoft Corp) is a computer-assisted image diagnostic chatbot that recognizes cancers and diseases within the eye but does not directly interact with the user like a chatbot [42]. Even with the rapid advancements of AI in cancer imaging, a major issue is the lack of a gold standard [58]. We identified 78 healthbot apps commercially available on the Google Play and Apple iOS stores.
It might be wise for businesses to take advantage of such an automation opportunity. Our team has developed an easy-to-use application with a wide range of functions, a web-based administrative panel, and a health and wellness application for Android and iOS platforms. That app allows users undergoing prostate cancer treatment to track and optimize their physical and mental health by storing and managing their medical records in the so-called health passport. Bot-building companies are typically software development vendors that employ AI technology to help businesses deploy their own chatbots across a platform. This free AI-enabled medical chatbot offers patients the most likely diagnoses based on evidence.
What is a Healthcare Chatbot, and What does it do?
Personalization features were only identified in 47 apps (60%), of which all required information drawn from users’ active participation. Forty-three of these (90%) apps personalized the content, and five (10%) personalized the user interface of the app. Examples of individuated content include the healthbot asking for the chatbot in healthcare user’s name and addressing them by their name; or the healthbot asking for the user’s health condition and providing information pertinent to their health status. In addition to the content, some apps allowed for customization of the user interface by allowing the user to pick their preferred background color and image.
Further studies are required to draw solid conclusions about the effectiveness and safety of chatbots. Healthcare professionals can now efficiently manage resources and prioritize clinical cases using artificial intelligence chatbots. The technology helps clinicians categorize patients depending on how severe their conditions are. A medical bot assesses users through questions to define patients who require urgent treatment. It then guides those with the most severe symptoms to seek responsible doctors or medical specialists.
Top 3 Healthcare Chatbots
As such models are formal (and have already been accepted and in use), it is relatively easy to turn them into algorithmic form. The rationality in the case of models and algorithms is instrumental, and one can say that an algorithm is ‘the conceptual embodiment of instrumental rationality within’ (Goffey 2008, p. 19) machines. Thus, algorithms are an actualisation of reason in the digital domain (e.g. Finn 2017; Golumbia 2009). However, it is worth noting that formal models, such as game-theoretical models, do not completely describe reality or the phenomenon in question and its processes; they grasp only a slice of the phenomenon.
There are ethical considerations to giving a computer program detailed medical information that could be hacked and stolen. Any healthcare entity using a chatbox system must ensure protective measures are in place for its patients. Medical chatbots might pose concerns about the privacy and security of sensitive patient data. For example, when a chatbot suggests a suitable recommendation, it makes patients feel genuinely cared for. Chatbot becomes a vital point of communication and information gathering at unforeseeable times like a pandemic as it limits human interaction while still retaining patient engagement.