Why AI-Augmented Virtual Assistants Will Soon Be Your Medical Companion

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Chatbots Life

13 min readFeb 27, 2019

The breakthroughs covered by AI-powered Virtual Assistants are very well-known. They have drawn the science on its toes. The extent of growth acceleration in many businesses has been extremely fast. Sometimes it is entirely unimaginable. So, what is Artificial Intelligence and AI-powered Virtual Assistants?

AI is a unification of different technologies that simulate the cognitive capacities of the human. Aside from all the businesses it has been touching the eights. You can say that the contemporary healthcare enterprise has been getting a high significance. There has been a standard variation in the way using which doctors treat patients. They now have excessive volumes of necessary data in their guidance, and they use a vast quantity of this data to sound purpose.

It is accepted to make use of AI Assistant to both disorderly and orderly managed data.

With approaches incorporating natural language processing and machine learning.

All sorts of health-related concerns extensively use this technology. But it is also necessary to remark that the permissible usage is neurology, cardiology, and oncology.

Doctors and nurses have begun choosing technology to overcome hand-operated work. It all is to offer more impactful interventions and reliable service to patients.

Types of Virtual Assistants

Though this explanation centers on the digital pattern of virtual assistants, the virtual personal assistant or term virtual assistant, is also generally utilized to define engagement executives who operate from home performing supervisory tasks commonly accomplished by administrative assistants or managers.

We can also relate AI-powered Virtual assistants with another kind of user-opposing AI programming, known as smart advisers. Virtual assistants are task-centered, while smart advisers programs are subject-oriented.

Virtual Assistant Devices & Technology

There are also machines committed to offering reliable virtual assistance. The most famous ones are accessible from Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. To utilize the Amazon virtual assistant, known as Alexa, those who use it call out the vigil word, (Alexa). A light on the machine indicates the user that it is available to get a command. It typically comprises simple language appeals, like “play pop music” or “what are the weather conditions today.” Those appeals are collected and processed in the cloud of Amazon.

The advanced technologies that control AI-powered virtual assistants need a substantial amount of information. It supports Chabot development framework and AI platforms, comprising natural language processing, machine learning, and speech identification platforms. The terminal user communicates with an AI assistant. AI programming utilizes advanced algorithms to detect from the data provided and turns out to be a perfect choice at estimating the end user’s requirements.

How AI-powered Virtual Assistants are Transforming Healthcare Industry

AI is the game-changer in the medical and healthcare sector. It helps human surgeons, and the roles of doctors are also shifting. By the reports shared by Frost & Sullivan, a very well-known consulting agency

The medical and healthcare AI market seems to undergo a composite yearly growth rate of 40% by the year 2021.
It has the strength to cut treatment costs in half. It also transforms healthcare upshots by 30 to 40 percent.
An investigation by Accenture has disclosed a fact about the essential AI-powered Virtual Assistants.
In healthcare, AI can create $150 billion in yearly profits for the economy of US healthcare by 2026
The professionalism of well-qualified clinicians can now be expanded in full by the complete layer of AI.
As it appends a more layer using which it is conceivable in lowering the failures in the healthcare industry.

Electronic Health Records (EHR)

EHR brought out dominant alterations in healthcare and medical industry. But it was not a soft shift because of troubles such as user burnout, cognitive overload. Also, the limitless documentation prompted specific restrictions. But enter AI, and you can automate these conventional procedures and turn out the interactions more spontaneous.

Medical document administration is a sphere that requires a great piece of time and efforts however with the likelihood of voice detection. Also, the instruction and integration with natural language processing can preserve you from putting extra efforts and time. It is a significant help for physicians because data retrieval is a dominant viewpoint of AI. And there is an even accustomed UI to turn it easier for collecting data.

There is also the main alteration in the approach patients are managed. Surgeons no longer must bother about bad combinations or drug overdose or hypersensitivities. As this data will all be accumulated in the cloud, to be relied on and operated simultaneously at the appropriate time.

Patients with past happenings of many infections can also help from technology. It is now clear to recognize the models and send warnings.

Aside from data warehouse, retrieval, and recognition of models. The AI-powered virtual assistant can control routine applications as well. Here are a few of the outlines:

Assume a patient has a delayed laboratory experiment. It would transfer information to the associated patient
Recognize which patient out of various requires immediate concern and accordingly focus on them
A patient is around to move out of its vaccination. With AI-powered virtual assistant, can immediately send the application for medication

Medical Imaging Diagnostics

AI plays a significant role in allowing discernment in the radiology images captured via scanning devices. MRI machines, CT, scanners, and X-rays give impressions of the body’s interior operations. Though they are not infallible as they are not perpetually capable of providing a reliable determination on their own. Surgeons usually had to rely on a supplement or alternate approaches (for instance, biopsies). It all is to take accurate judgments on what is not correct with the patient.

But AI-powered virtual assistants have thoroughly renovated the scanning machine’s negativities. They do this by offering highly correct input data on the body. The demonstrative imaging unit, the doctors and the pathologist can reach a consensual judgment on the form of treatment. The possibilities of overcoming obstacles are remarkably high.

It can investigate by the various demonstrative images and track for irregularities. Utilizing reliable learning algorithms, it has now turned out to be plausible. It is now used to distinguish between non-cancerous and cancerous cells in a precise approach.

The radiologists can now be able to zoom in and out of the issue and study accurately. Can do a few things more vibrantly and precisely than what the eyes of humans could do. Taking the assistance of highly dominating scanning devices and identify tumors, infections, and bleeds. By monitoring the influenced area intensely, physicians can get to a better decision. No matter the treatment will impact the regions around or how long the contamination could spread and expose the possibilities of the illness.

Its capacity in monitoring the troubled area and moving farther into it assists the doctors also when they are doing operations. As they can now ready to get enough data on how to get the remedial region.

Virtual Health Assistance

It is worthwhile to enhance the obligation of the patient to a great extent by using MVA and IVA. As of now, the healthcare assistance has reached much forward by advising patients in managing their aims. It also supports them to take care of their health just like a real assistant can perform, and even much more. There are medical assistants and various machines that are integrated with Artificial Intelligence. Here are a few of the approaches in which this all can happen:

Keep on reminding patients to take their medicines on proper time as suggested
Recommend eating habits and diet for patients with limitations in their nutrition
Offer medical help when they have common complaints or ailments
Evoke when they are about to move out of medications and order directions
Enable virtual communication with doctors
Recall them of physician meetings and maintain bookings

Chatbot Services suggest a caregiver or family member for giving necessary healthcare to sufferers who require emergency healing assistance, at least till paramedics get over. It is also plausible for patients to access medical sites

Talk with the chatbots using chat section
Discuss symptoms
Ask health-concerning queries

The bots itself are so smart that they are squeezed to recognize and answer to user queries. They can act essentially such as a physician if the requirement appears. It is a fact the chatbots can never substitute the physical doctor. They can at least assist to mitigate the anxiety and fears confronted by the sufferer.

Organizations such as Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon have already employed intelligent conversational systems. They can respond to text or voice-based inquiries via apps running on portable devices. This technology can be included to enhance the engagement of patients — patient’s skills of controlling chronic situations by their own from tuning out to be worse.

Robotic Assistance

You may not be pleased with robots conducting surgery on you. You will find yourself in a comfortable and safe situation while you are on the operation desk with a qualified doctor. But how concerning focalizing the abilities of the technical excellence of a robot and the adequate doctor?

That proceeds for operation with remarkable levels of steadiness, precision, and accuracy. And what happens when you have AI-powered virtual assistants managing the hand of the doctor? It unlocks access to remarkably high grades of efficiency and great patient consequences.

The AI-powered virtual assistants can immediately present data on the present and past health of a patient and make recommendations that would assist in the diagnosis.
Operations have turned out to be minimally invasive procedures.
It decreases the hospital stay.
There are operational chatbots that employ robotic vision to perform surgeries.
These surgeries are carried out after accurately determining the dimensions of the human body.

AI can assist with surgeries of different inclinations, such as systems with differing difficulty levels. And this can have a significant connection on hospital stay, and thereby the patient’s restoration. When a doctor operates a complicated surgery, AI-powered virtual assistants present real-time data. It helps in recognizing and overcome risk and enhances quality. Exact moves are built the robot hands in practice to neutralizing any tremors in the surgeon’s hands. It enables the progression and completion of surgeries.

The best part of the entire scenario, the AI assistants will continue observing the patient. They also take care of the health levels, even when nurses and doctors are resting. Human limitations will nevermore be an obstacle in producing an excellent patient upshot.

Proactive Medical Care

In an old medical approach, that aim to manipulate the sufferer after being detecting the disease. For instance, if a patient visits a doctor with some traits. The physician may do some tests, and then find the sufferer has cancer. Then after they start treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation. Likewise, a patient visits a doctor with diabetes signs. The physician does the tests and then prescribes shots of insulin. This variety of treatment is known as reactive healthcare. Using AI, there has been a significant rise in this route because compassionate medical care is moved out to be proactive healthcare.

In this sort of concern, the doctor studies the complete medical history of a patient.
Highlights the high-risk markers for several diseases
Observes the patients with a higher risk level for any variation in their statuses

If anything appears frightening enough, then the AI assistants can recommend medical invasion.

There are AI assistants in the form of an app that prompts the sufferer to be an active associate in their health situation. For instance, the application, PeerWell inspires people to participate in their health. It says “here are a few things you can work on to recover your health and present a fair outcome,” and offer recommendations.

Likewise, there are situation-specific apps for AI. These apps are congenital heart diseases, palliative care, and diabetes control. The purpose is to encourage the patient to act on most of the things. And also to avoid the requirement of waiting for a physician to do this work for them.

Advantages of Including AI-based Virtual Assistants in Healthcare

Healthcare is undoubtedly advancing through AI. Here are the significant advantages appreciated by both doctors as well as the patient.

Predictive Healthcare

Predictive medical care leads to an evolving therapy model. In this, doctors review the complete data of patients. It is done to monitor for any irregularities, followed by instructions of medical invasion.

Personalized Vaccination

AI turns it plausible for patients to possess customized healthcare. It is all as per their body physique and medical records. In 2017, by the University of Tokyo, an aged woman was healed for a unique form of leukemia. Watson — IBM’s cognitive supercomputer suggested the treatment. The recommendation was delivered within ten minutes and by searching around 20 million cancer analysis reporting.

Better Diagnosis

Fast cross-referencing and research of records drives to stable diseases diagnosis. The information also comprises the sensor and geospatial data, handwritten notes, & results of tests. Also, consider the environment (both natural & human) factors.

High-Level Treatment Plans

Introduce and generate modern treatment approaches, including cell biology, robotic surgery, stem therapy, proteomics & genomics. Here are some examples:

Synthetic pancreas to stabilize the levels of blood glucose and inflict insulin
Eye drops to disintegrate cataracts, rather than eye surgeries
Wound curing by imprinting skin cells, blood vessel reproduction and 3D printing of human body parts are all turned out to be possible via AI

Continuous Monitoring Indicates a Lower Chance for the Hospital

Unstoppable observing of patients would guarantee timely treatment and care. It decreases hospital stay. The AI-based application can monitor the health of the patients. Also, find the vital symptoms in case of severely sick patients before signaling for medical invasion.

Long Term Cost Cutting for Both Hospital and Patient

AI-powered Virtual Assistants can make healthcare both affordable and efficient. It assists in:

Guiding making an adequate diagnosis
More reliable and stable treatment choice
Supports the patients make better decisions about their health
Reach to significant conclusions in drug expansion.

Challenges That Require To Be Approached

Some thorny problems persist in the path of AI. They are here:

The substantial risk involved

There is perpetually a profit of a dilemma. What if intelligent algorithms predict something wrong. Will the AI hold adequate security traits so it will not transmute on the people? Physicians must invariably be available for exceptional and new. Even the cases that AI has not yet reported. And what occurs when there is a safety rupture? AI addresses all these risks.

Patient & Doctor Comfort

The purpose of apps and machines monitoring your health can be somehow threatening to the patient. While the physicians might feel endangered, they might consider directed by an AI Assistant.

Expertise and Training to use AI Assistants

AI can significantly enhance the living standards of people. The patients should possess some extent of knowledge in managing the apps and machines. In some instances, This could be a bit challenging task.

Patient Data Security

No matter how safe a system is, hackers succeed in finding a path to get across it. So if the safety systems are not improved, the life of patient’s might be in danger. The hackers can erase or change the information, steal private data or wreak havoc.

Complying With Healthcare Standards of Government

To get adhesion in healthcare and medical industry. It is necessary that AI should comply with healthcare standards. Especially when the concern comes to the safety and privacy of patients. It is essential with data concerning the patient being promptly accessible in the cloud.

Conclusion

AI-controlled virtual assistants are transforming the healthcare industry. It alters the patient’s role; it changes the doctor’s job as well.

To get a perfect chatbot to suit your business specific needs, you must be wise while choosing the Chatbot Development Company that you are thinking to hire to get your idea to be successfully implemented to give it a more useful command to uplift the human conveniences. A correct decision can provide the wings to your innovative approach. On the same time, a wrong selection can ruin your idea and turn it to be a failure.

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