Outpatients at The Walton Centre will soon have a completely different experience from other hospitals.
The centre confirmed that, working with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a chatbot will be introduced to reduce waiting times for patients. The two organisations will focus on introducing artificial intelligence to outpatient referrals to neurologists, with The Walton Centre confirming that patients with headaches make up the largest number of such referrals and have a three-month average waiting period to see a consultant.
TCS is developing an AI-based chatbot that will interact with patients being referred to a neurology or headache specialist and collect details about their condition and symptoms through structured questions. This will then compile a detailed medical history that clinicians can review before the first appointment with the patient.
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Depending on the assessment from the clinician, a patient may be fast tracked to be examined by a consultant or offered guidance on alleviating symptoms while they wait their turn to be seen. The chatbot will relieve pressure of specialist consultants as most will have answered the questions often asked on their first visit.
The AI is said to improve productivity and reduce waiting times as well as providing useful information to help patients prepare for and get the best out of their first appointment.
Dr Anita Krishnan, Divisional Clinical Director for Neurology said: “Technology is a huge part of medicine and it’s exciting to work with TCS to create a new artificial intelligence-based solution which will help our patients. The chatbot system also has potential to be extended into other areas of medicine, which could benefit even more patients.
"We are working closely with TCS and our other specialist partners to ensure the new solution is effective and safe and improves efficiency and patient outcomes.”
Shalini Mathur, business unit head for TCS said: “We are pleased to partner with The Walton Centre to transform patient care in the UK using next-gen technologies. These technologies and solutions will help reduce waiting times for patients while improving the productivity of specialist consultants. This creates a blueprint for similar digital innovation in other clinical settings.”
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