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When hospitals feel the strain, health care chatbots prove useful 

Example chat message from the Scout symptom checker. (Courtesy of GYANT)
Example chat message from the Scout symptom checker. (Courtesy of GYANT)

The pandemic has placed a massive strain on hospitals and health care workers, but could technology help lighten that burden?

Health care chatbots have exploded in use during the pandemic as a way for hospitals to triage patients by answering health-related questions and directing them to the next step — either making a doctor’s appointment or going to the emergency room.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Stefan Behrens, CEO of GYANT which created a chatbot named Scout. Tong also talks with Adam Palanica, a behavioral scientist at Klick Applied Sciences who conducted a survey of 100 physicians who used chatbots.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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