Skilled and compassionate clinicians will always be valued, even in a world where Conversational AI advances with every passing day, says Richard Samuel, director of Healthcare Strategy at EBO.
However, he says: “AI has qualities that even the most dedicated practitioners may lack; ample time, infinite patience, endless empathy and unbeatable consistency.
“Add to that the way EBO’s Conversational AI adapts to patients’ preferred language and level of comprehension, and you can see why its patient portal is earning its place in the delivery of mental health services.”
Samuel is keen to qualify that EBO’s solution is not a replacement for patient consultations with senior clinicians and medical staff.
The ‘Intelligent Patient Portal’ sits in the gap between the patient and the clinician. It’s a conduit. The purpose of the interactions between the end user and the portal is to help service managers provide tailored care that best meets the needs of their patients.
For patients, there is ready access to supportive dialogue that is enriched by behavioural science and natural language programming. The portal’s depth and breadth of knowledge and its emotional intelligence are geared towards making the patient feel comfortable and listened to.
The outcome of conversations via the portal varies, as Samuel explains:
“Picking up on and reacting to sentiment is at the heart of EBO’s solution and nowhere is this more important than in the mental health arena. Powered by Conversational AI, EBO portal supports our customers in shaping their service for each and every patient, based on individual need. This could be using nudge theory to encourage behavioural change or, for example, slowly going over the logistics of a forthcoming appointment; where it is, who or what to bring, how to get there cand so on. Staff can inadvertently rush over these seemingly simple details, but they really matter to patients, especially if anxiety is an issue.”
Providing a wellbeing-focused triage service at the outer edge of care and treatment for mental health conditions may not sound like a big step forward for efficiency but Samuel maintains that the value of EBO’s AI-powered portal comes from its strong focus on patient wellbeing in a way that time-poor clinicians might struggle.
“The portal is always empathetic and always available. It plays a role in monitoring patients through its intense listening and from skilful questioning. Concerns are flagged to the clinical team and the system is sufficiently sensitive to enact a ‘warm handover’ when human contact is more appropriate.”
He says that helping to keep patients away from reaching crisis point and providing a constant source of support means that valuable clinician time can be targeted where it’s needed most.
This is a winning factor as far as Christine Swain, EBO’s Chief Clinical Officer, is concerned:
As a former NHS Deputy Divisional General Manager and a Senior Consultant at Cerner, Swain explained that protocols are in place to escalate if patients use language that might suggest potential self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
Asked about digital exclusion or reluctance to use the portal, Swain states that EBO has created a completely manual alternative to avoid any inequity.
Reflecting on the strengths of EBO’s approach, she says that involving the clinical and admin team at the outset pays dividends: “We start by process mapping the whole pathway, even the bits at either end of what we have been asked to help with. This helps us see the bigger picture and avoid building an automated alternative when what’s really needed are changes to the pathway. As a clinician, I enjoy this phase because it has all the benefits that we know can come from a multi-disciplinary team approach.”
There is an intense period of monitoring and evaluation in the first six weeks of an EBO implementation, but Swain says that’s just the start of the client relationship:
“For us, we see each new ‘go live’ not as a handing over but as the beginning of a step forward in patient care and staff satisfaction. We share our clients’ desire to deliver Conversational AI that is safe, effective and warm.”
An exclusive roundtable event for Rio EPR customers is taking place on June 24, 12pm – 1pm (GMT+1). Mental health and community NHS trusts are taking part. This online event will be an opportunity to discuss how AI, behavioural science and Rio-integrated technology is shaping the way patient portals can meet the needs of mental health service users.
Further information about EBO’s Intelligent Conversational patient portal can be found in EBO’s brochure. Download it here.
