Chatbot flu shot campaign found to improve patient response rate by 30%

A number of companies are already offering chatbots for healthcare. One doctor in Arizona has been using bots for administrative tasks, but his practice decided to also use this function for its annual flu initiative. During flu season, the practice typically sent out pamphlets and emails to remind patients to get their shots. But it designed a campaign around the chatbot and sent an invitation to patients saying flu shots are in, and asking if they were interested in getting one. The response rate jumped from around 1% when the practice used other channels to 30% with texting. The time it took patients to respond was also much faster than usual. The practice intends to expand the chatbot use to some of its triage purposes.