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. 2020 Apr 30;6(2):e18808.
doi: 10.2196/18808.

A Guide to Chatbots for COVID-19 Screening at Pediatric Health Care Facilities

Juan Espinoza  1   2 , Kelly Crown  2 , Omkar Kulkarni  2
Affiliations

A Guide to Chatbots for COVID-19 Screening at Pediatric Health Care Facilities

Juan Espinoza et al. JMIR Public Health Surveill. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has required institutions to rapidly adapt to changing public health circumstances. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has encouraged health care facilities to explore novel health care delivery modes. However, many institutions may not be prepared to begin offering digital health and telehealth services. Chatbots are one digital health tool that can help evolve triage and screening processes in a scalable manner. Here, we present a decision-making and implementation framework for deploying COVID-19 screening chatbots at pediatric health care facilities.

Keywords: COVID-19: pediatrics; chatbots; digital health; screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sample chatbot process map. *: Institutional discretion, follow public health agency guidelines.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A chatbot network diagram: patient-initiated approach. This diagram illustrates a generic architecture and workflow for a simple chatbot that is hosted outside the institution’s secure computing environment. 1) Patient uses a personal device to access the institution’s website from a link they receive in a text, email, or secure message. 2) The chatbot interacts with the patient and stratifies them according to the screening algorithm. 3) The chatbot provides the patient with education, resources, tips, and specific instructions on next steps. 4) The patient reaches out to the hospital via phone or telehealth as instructed by the chatbot. Integration with hospital systems is possible for data collection and workflow management, but not required.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A chatbot network diagram: provider-initiated approach. This diagram illustrates a generic architecture and workflow for a chatbot that is hosted within the institution’s secure computing environment. 1) The patient uses a personal device to access the institution’s website from a link they receive in a text, email, or secure message. 2) The chatbot interacts with the patient and stratifies them according to the screening algorithm. 3) The chatbot collects data and integrates with institutional workflows, including additional clinical screening and scheduling. 4) The chatbot provides the patient with education, resources, tips, and specific instructions on next steps. 5) Staff members reach out to patients to schedule appropriate follow-up; patients are also able to reach out with further questions or requests.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020. [2020-03-15]. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the U.S https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html.
    1. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. 2020. [2020-04-22]. COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.

MeSH terms