The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust is collaborating with an IT supplier for applying the current digital technologies to its operation.
This is the trust’s first project with TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) which involves creating an artificial intelligence-based chatbot to decrease the specialists’ workload and the waiting time of the patients.
The chatbot will do some of the initial information gathering work of specialist neurologists, saving them time and shortening the time it takes patients to see them.
The hospital is located in Liverpool and offers various services such as neurology, neurosurgery, spinal, and pain management services and the average wait time for appointments with its consultants is three months.
The AI-powered chatbot model will make use of cloud-native and conversational AI technologies. The AI chatbots will communicate with patients after they opt for the hospital, and gather information regarding symptoms via a set of queries. The patients’ responses along with their medical history will be analyzed by the clinicians before their appointments, thereby allowing them to make an early assessment.
As a result of the chatbot, the consultants, who are in high demand will not have the need to ask questions during the first appointment.
Patients will be expedited if the consultant believes it is necessary, and advice on symptom relief will be provided based on the information received by the clinician. Patients will also be given instructions on how to prepare for their first appointment.
According to Anita Krishnan, divisional clinical director for neurology at The Walton Centre, technology is an important part of medicine today. It’s exciting to collaborate with TCS to develop a new AI-based solution that will benefit our patients, she said.
Krishnan further stated that there is a possibility of the chatbot system being expanded into other fields of medicine. We are collaborating closely with TCS and our other specialist partners to make sure that the new solution is successful and secure, and that it enhances efficiency and patient results, she explained.
Shalini Mathur, business unit head, public services the United Kingdom, at TCS, the patients waiting time can be minimized with the help of these technologies and solutions, while simultaneously enhancing the specialist consultants’ productivity. This lays the groundwork for similar digital innovation in other clinical settings.
