For years, exciting developments in AI that help doctors better diagnose, treat, and even perform surgery on patients have been the headlining interactions between AI and the healthcare industry. But as exciting as those innovations are, AI is also making the healthcare industry more efficient by helping to ease the burden of doctor-patient communication. The many healthcare interactions where AI can assist The administrative and communications burden of the doctor-patient relationship is no joke, although its full impact on doctors and other staff alike is often overlooked. However, its full breadth comes clear in the many ways AI is able to intervene and automate this work. For example, patients want to be able to schedule appointments easily and conveniently. For many people, this now means messaging or voice chat rather than a phone call during potentially limited business hours. Conversational AI can handle that effortlessly while simultaneously offering patients up-to-date information about hours, locations, fees, insurance coverage, billing and more. Those pesky visits where patients and doctors waste valuable time to confirm the formality of a fairly simple prescription, such as the birth control pill? Some companies are taking those interactions fully through messaging through a combination of automation and doctor verification. The top conversational AI can also connect seamlessly between physicians, insurers and pharmacies, allowing for an intuitive flow of information for patients and care providers while maintaining HIPAA compliance. Does AI sacrifice patient care for convenience? Many physicians may be concerned about information being lost in translation when communicating with an AI, and AI not being able to fully meet patients’ various and changing care needs. This might be a particular concern if the closest point of reference is stilted, pre-programmed chatbots from the early aughts. But conversational AI has come a long way, and AI is able to not only make your patient experience more efficient and cost-effective, but also to create unique tools and opportunities for patients that may not have been possible before. For example, AI can walk patients through aftercare needs such as changing wound dressing or set reminders to take medication or schedule follow-up appointments. These reminders and notifications can be personalized to your patient to give a greater sense of continuity, as well. Perhaps most importantly of all, AI can dramatically reduce the documentation burden on healthcare providers. Record-keeping can distract doctors during their time with patients as well as take up a frustrating amount of their total work hours. AI can walk patients through much of the pre-visit onboarding and are even capable of processing the intent behind patient requests, letting doctors and staff spend their time working on the most important and difficult aspects of actually providing care. Source: iQuanti, Inc.