Digital Women's Health Hub

EBO's Digital AI Hub for Enhanced
Accessibility, Education and Inclusivity

An ICB approach for the entire health ecosystem
A Conversational AI-Powered Platform
Empowers patients to manage their health independently
High quality digital healthcare personalised experience
A 24/7 digital front door
2-way natural conversation in over 100 languages
Proactive broadcast and check-ins
Data-driven insights

Despite strides toward gender equality in healthcare, numerous challenges persist, impacting women’s access to quality care, reproductive health services, and overall well-being.

The Women’s Health Strategy for England, acknowledges the historical gender bias in healthcare, emphasising the need for a system that is more responsive to women’s unique health requirements and conditions. It recognises that the NHS has fallen short of meeting women’s day-to-day needs and placing importance on women-specific issues, such as pregnancy loss, menopause and endometriosis. The strategy outlines the need for better information and education, the need to address issues related to reproductive health, mental health as well as violence towards women.

In response to this strategy and the problems being faced by women, EBO’s Digital Women’s Health Hub (DWHH) introduces an innovative approach to women’s health; one that places accessibility, education, and inclusivity at the heart of its solution, ensuring that no woman is left behind.

The Problem

NHS has fallen short of meeting women’s day-to-day needs and placing importance on women-specific issues, such as pregnancy loss, menopause and endometriosis. Improved information and education are urgently needed to address these gaps.

Lack of Access to healthcare

Research shows 20-year life expectancy gap between women living in deprived areas and those living in wealthier parts of the country. Furthermore, NHS England outlines that women from inclusion health groups face additional hurdles in accessing healthcare. These obstacles contribute to poorer health outcomes compared to the general female population.

When it comes to gynaecologic screenings and diagnosis, studies indicate that Cervical Cancer screening is low in more deprived areas and among ethnic minority groups, leading to disparities in early detection and treatment (source). Endometriosis Diagnosis is also commonly delayed and access to imaging or surgical diagnosis may be restricted by social inequalities and limited knowledge of the disease in primary care (source).

Lack of Information and Awareness

A concerning statistic in the Women’s Health Strategy survey, shows that women experience a lack of access to information. The strategy’s public survey reveals that:

Only 8% of respondents felt they had access to enough information on gynaecological conditions
Only 9% of respondents felt they had access to enough information about menopause
Only 17% felt they had enough information on menstrual well-being

When it comes to sourcing information, an earlier 2021 survey showed that apart from family and friends (74%), the most common source of health information for women was Google (71%). Whilst search engines can serve as a valid source of information, they may not be accurate and applicable to the patient’s needs. This may lead to misdiagnosis, delay in diagnosis and overall lower healthcare outcomes.

Long Waiting Lists

According to Dr. Edward Morris, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), waiting lists for conditions like endometriosis, prolapse, and heavy bleeding have seen substantial increases over the past two years. Untreated conditions such as endometriosis and prolapse can worsen and severely impact quality of life and fertility (source).

Feeling Ignored

According to the Women’s Health Strategy public survey, 84% of women reported instances of not being listened to by healthcare professionals, particularly gynaecological symptoms. (WH Strategy, p.15) A lack of information and awareness further exacerbates the issue.

An earlier survey published by the Department of Health and Social Care, reported that ‘many women recalled their symptoms being dismissed upon first contact with GPs and other professionals; women felt they had to persistently advocate for themselves to secure a diagnosis, often over multiple visits, months and years’.

Statistic highlights (for infographic within the text):

Only 9% of respondents feel they have access to enough information about menopause
71% of patients refer to Google as the source of health information
84% of women reported instances of not being listened to by healthcare professionals
There is a 20-year life expectancy gap between women living in deprived areas and those living in wealthier parts of the country

The Impact

Key statistics:

only 9% of respondents feel they have access to enough information about menopause

71% of patients refer to Google as the source of health information

84% of women reported instances of not being listened to by healthcare professionals

Powered by Al

The Solution

Powered by Conversational AI technology, EBO’s solution offers a 24/7 digital front door to clinical services, empowering patients to manage their health independently. Through its intelligent communication platform, surfaced on a Trust’s website, the solution engages with patients via two-way human-like automated dialogue, ensuring that information is delivered accurately, consistently and with empathy.

Through the use of an intelligent AI Virtual Assistant, EBO efficiently and addresses enquiries from patients, offers clear signposting and resources, gathers patient feedback and provides assessments without the need of constant human supervision.

By leveraging advanced NLP and machine learning algorithms within the Platform, the Virtual Assistant comprehends and responds to diverse questions, encompassing topics such as the availability of community service providers, specific service-related enquiries, medical procedures, and the hospital’s approach to care delivery.

It not only promotes health inclusivity by reaching diverse patient demographics but also advances health equity by providing consistent, high quality digital healthcare experiences at any time across all devices and in over 100 languages.

On average, 42% of conversations with EBO’s Virtual Assistants occurred outside regular office hours, enabling patients to access their healthcare at a time that suits them best.

of patient conversations out of office hours

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Benefits & Capabilities

Enhanced Accessibility via 24/7 Interactive Communication
Targets Diverse Needs via Personalised Patient Engagement
Accommodates User Preferences and Outreach Management
Reaches out to Patients
Enables Patients via Healthcare System Navigation
Improves Healthcare with Data-Driven Insights
Empowers Patients through Empathy
Increases Work Capacity
Optionally integrates with EBO's Intelligent Patient Portal

EBO’s Virtual Assistants have received a patient satisfaction score of 94%, highlighting the efficacy of our solution.

overall average patient satisfaction score

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The Results?

Well-informed patients who have their concerns taken seriously, in a timely manner, at every stage of their healthcare journey, regardless of their background, location, language or level of digital maturity. To find out the full capabilities of the Hub please download our guide here.

Interested in learning more?

Get EBO’s full guide for DWHH

Winning Clients’ Trust

Here are a few words from our clients on their experience with our solution.

[EBO] more than rose to the challenge. It felt like a true development partnership with staff from both EBO and BCU forming a cohesive team

Danielle Edwards

If a solution like EBO is implemented across the NHS, it can revolutionise access to maternity care for the majority of service users. The point is to release capacity in Health systems by using innovation and technology that supports that.

Charlotte Clayton

The experience of working with EBO on our Virtual Assistant has been very positive. EBO and Servelec listened to our feedback and helped design AI solutions that benefit our patients by providing an alternative way they interact with the trust.

James Mariott

I think where we really found the stress is on the admin. A lot of our service users are calling us, which means that our lines are continuously busy and admins miss some of the calls, as they are on the phone with another service user at the time. It means that people are trying to get in contact till the late evening when the services are closed. It really opened up our eyes to see that there are other ways our clients can communicate with us and there are other ways that we can communicate with the clients. It actually works for them.

Shona Richards

EBO is a trusted partner of Microsoft, because a lot of what we see with thousands of customers that we work around the world is very much aligned with EBO’s mission and vision. They empower caregivers; they empower administrative staff, and they empower patients to have better access to information. 84% of Healthcare Executives believe that AI will revolutionise the way we obtain information.

Ruthy Kaidar

We have a growing backlog and we have patients whose conditions are just getting worse as their appointments are delayed. We have people in the community who cannot even get their first appointment, they cannot get diagnosed and they cannot receive early treatment. Covid has accelerated our adoption of virtual appointments and remote patient monitoring, so there is some efficiency gained there.

Jenny Chong

It is indeed a pleasure to work hand-in-hand with EBO in developing our AI profile and competence. Apart from providing excellent technical expertise, EBO has consistently supported, trained, and maintained a close relationship with all of our team whilst overseeing the development, deployment, and successful marketing of our AI platform. Such support is unique and provides us with the confidence and motivation to further develop this exciting Artificial Intelligence revolution together with EBO, and be able to provide a holistic and efficient experience to our clients.

Jean Claude Muscat

Our booking officers absolutely love our Virtual Assistant Alex, since it does the legwork and they can focus on the patient. Over the last six months, Alex has helped save 24 hours of staff time every week. Our callers come from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, so we worked with our communication to make sure Alex understands all our patients and the different ways they communicate.

Kim Hale

“Working with EBO is like ‘a breath of fresh air’. They have a deep-seated ‘can-do’ ethos to delivering successful solutions and our collaboration functions as a true partnership. The EBO Virtual Assistant is a new technology for us with great potential as it integrates directly with our Electronic Patient Record. We initiated a pilot with EBO on e-Consent and are already lined up for rolling out pre-assessment and appointment modules.¨