Care for me is the Capstone Project I did during my studies at Voice Tech Global. I had to choose my own scenario, carry out my research, come up with a value proposition and finally present the product demo in week 6.

Voice also has an emotional appeal that’s lacking or not as apparent in graphical interfaces. It may be easier for users to talk about difficult topics to a sympathetic computer than to a human who may be judgemental. This is why voice can be great for health and mental health contexts or when dealing with certain populations like the elderly.

User research

For this project I carried out research with 5 patients and 6 doctors from Romania. I also included one psychiatrist in my study. Most of the people were familiar using Telehealth apps but some of them have never used them. That way I could tap into how an ideal Telehealth app would look like for a new user.

 Benchmarking

Akira by Telus Health

Akira by TELUS Health is a national on-demand virtual care solution. It gives members and their family direct access to secure medical consults with friendly, knowledgeable clinicians – 24/7 and across the country. Akira is available in French and English, via smartphone or computer.

• Medical notes and chats from consults are saved on the app, so members can always refer back to them

• Mental health support available 24/7

• Impressive timeliness of care-prescriptions faxed to the pharmacy, mental health, diagnosis, referrals

• Memberships include immediate family members

ICliniq

ICliniq is a virtual online medical help service claiming to provide the highest caliber of online healthcare. It offers a unique service where any patient can receive consultation with any doctors, irrespective of their geographical location.

• Medical second opinions

• Q & A section curated by doctors

• Symptom checker before consulting with the doctor

• Doctors can publish their articles for patients around the world

• Health tools such as menstrual period , safe days & blood alcohol content calculators, depression anxiety stress scale, BMI, ICliniq Connect (SaaS tool for hospitals) etc.

Telehealth & Medicine Today

An open access, peer reviewed journal delivering information on the cost efficiency of value based care to inform healthcare leaders and innovators around the globe.

• Rapid review of research articles and commentaries related to innovations in patient-centred care

• Emphasis focuses on advances in program implementation, outcomes, process improvement, financial impact, and clinical research application

• Flash-briefing skill

Libertana

Helps members with their daily activities, to get reminders, see their calendar, request services or send messages to their caregiver.

Mayo First Aid

Alexa skill which provides instant access to first-aid information. Users can receive self-care instructions and quick answers from reliable sources.

Value proposition

“Care for me” is a voice-interface and chatbot that helps doctors and patients who want to have a seamless and efficient online medical consultation, by reducing time and uncertainty with a diagnostic pre-assessment and follow-up post session. It also enables people to learn from one another through curated FAQs, articles & interesting cases.

— User-friendly, Accessible, Integrated, All-in-one Platform

• features

  -symptom checker (patients) to assess urgency

  -hand-off to Telehealth for urgent cases

  -call timer (patient & doctor)

  -follow-up (patient) for post session recommendations

  -curated FAQ (patients)

  -curated articles & cases (doctors)

  -appointment reminders (patient & doctor)

  -add doctor to your favourites

• technologically accessible:

  -smart speakers

  -smartphones

  -telephones

  -web browsers

  -smart watches

  -telephony integration (unfamiliar with chat- seniors)

Personality design

Name

Care for me

Mission & conversational goals

A representative of Dialogue whose main job is to help assess your symptoms and guide you to book a consultation with a doctor in your language

Key personality traits

Compassionate, Intelligent, Calming, Attentive

Character that shares these descriptions

Nurse

Language and tone

Medical jargon is to be avoided. Simple, plain, clear and concise language is preferred along with a warm & empathetic tone.

Visual expression

Text, human 3D model (symptom checker), illustrations (e.g., congratulations illustration when booking is successful, clock when appointment is near etc.)

Audio expression

Minimal use of earcons or audio icons

Welcome greetings

First-time users

Alexa: Hi and welcome to Care for me! Let’s see how I can help you! Before we get started, I need some information about yourself. Is that alright with you?

Returning users

Alexa: Welcome to Care for me! I hope your day has been as nice as you are! What would you like to do today: start pre-assessment, see frequently asked questions or check your appointments?

Conversation repair

Alexa: Welcome to Care for me! I hope your day has been as nice as you are! What would you like to do: start pre-assessment, see frequently asked questions or check your appointments?

User: Book a call now!

Alexa: Hmmm, I am not sure about that. I can help you do a pre-assessment, see frequently asked questions or check your appointments. Which one would you like?

User: I want to book a call now!

Alexa: Sorry, but I am not sure about your request. Try saying things like “Start pre-assessment”, “See frequently asked questions” or “Check my appointments”. How can I help you?

User: Call.

Alexa: If you need more help using this skill, just say Help. If you wish to continue, say Continue. If you wish to exit, just say Exit. Which one would you like?

Accessibility

Asynchronous modalities, which often involve storing health information online, have also become essential. Patient portals that store online medical charts, images, and messages allow patients to access their medical history, lab results, and communicate securely with providers.

Build a multi-language chatbot: aim to translate and publish the chatbot in as many languages as possible.

Mobility issues (VR): in-built sensors measure the heart rate, temperature, blood oxygen, respiratory rate, effort, and more.

The future of Telehealth

Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) complicates audio communication with patients → point at a QR code in order to access links

Now that patients have a taste for what is possible with voice and healthcare, behaviours are not likely to go back to re-pandemic norms. We will see more investment in voice-tech integration in the healthcare industry in the years to come. Emerging technologies like 5G and Space X’s Starlink system will provide better internet access to underserved populations, allowing VR to be a realistic therapeutic option for anyone who is interested in trying it out.

Outcome and learnings

The thing I enjoyed the most about this project is that it allowed me to think of all the possible scenarios my users could use this application: not only permanent but also the temporary ones. What if one person has a broken arm or a sore throat for example? What is the quickest and safest way for them to use this application? I also really liked this topic as it has great applicability in Covid-19 times and retrieving your QR code with voice is soon becoming a reality. Further as the product demo entailed a simple recording of the flow and dialogue, the next step is developing and testing an Alexa skill with this functionality and delighting patients with a multimodal experience. I also plan to interview doctors who have more experience with Telehealth platforms and to have more diversity in my participants.