Exploring the Characteristics, Technologies and Challenges of Healthcare Chatbots

Abstract

A conversational AI or chatbot is a program that simulates human interaction with users. Chatbots are not only widely used but are also highly popular in different branches such as e-commerce, social media, and banking to name a few. With the accelerated development of artificial intelligence (AI), the use of chatbots in healthcare has become one of the most impressive examples of recent progress. In this paper, the researchers are discussing healthcare chatbots and the basic characteristics, technology, and problems they face. Various forms of chatbots have been explored both from the viewpoint of theory and in the aspect of practice, they have been positioned on the technological platforms where they can effectively operate. The discussion paper also laid down significant issues related to evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of these chatbots in terms of the online patient diagnosis and real-time decision-making in clinical care. It posits that the research affords healthcare practitioners and developers valuable insights, as the devoted knowledge and the roadmaps for the future are offered. In addition, emerging tools such as natural language processing and reinforcement learning contributed to these developments. Yet, the challenges are still there and they include the necessity for high accuracy in patient diagnosis, secure storage of the patient data, and obtaining the public trust in these systems. However, the absence of integration of the new generation of chatbots with traditional healthcare systems also presents another huge barrier to their widespread application. Advanced thematic analysis was used as well for recognizing the typical patterns and difficulties in the biomedical literature, offering input into the best areas for enhancing the quality of services. The outcomes also brought forth the fact that people would have to perpetually monitor the decision-making process, especially when it comes to deciding for life and death.