Conversational ‘bot’ to interact with NCMC patients

GREELEY — Banner Health has installed an automated system at North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley to answer emergency room patient questions that are unique to the patient and not canned responses.

The conversational chatbot can be accessed by mobile phone, can download existing medical records and respond to questions such as, “how long is this going to take.”

When asked a question, the bot pulls data from the health system’s medical record to get answers. The chatbot service is offered to patients when they register at the emergency room. Patients who opt-in receive a text message on their cell phones to begin the process of interacting with the chatbot.

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North Colorado Medical Center began offering patients the chatbot service today. Banner Gateway Medical Center in Arizona launched the program in May. After the first month, patients had an average of 9.4 conversations with the bot during their stay. The most frequently asked questions are when lab or medical imaging results will be available.

The technology will roll out to other Banner Health hospitals later this year including Banner Fort Collins Medical Center, McKee Medical Center in Loveland and the Banner Colorado Emergency Department in west Greeley.

“This is an example of Banner Health working to make health care easier so life can be better,” Margo Karsten, CEO for Banner Health in Northern Colorado and president of Banner’s western region, said in a statement. “Not knowing when or sometimes if a physician will come back to your patient room is so frustrating. This tool will help patients’ find peace of mind.”

The chatbot program is one of several recent projects in development with Banner.