AI Chatbot Developed to Enhance Patient Self-Triage with Medical Protocols
A new artificial intelligence-powered chatbot has been developed to assist individuals in making informed decisions about their health symptoms. This tool, created by a team at the University of California San Diego, aims to improve the self-triage process by using symptom-based flowcharts to guide users on whether to self-care, schedule a medical visit, or seek emergency care. The chatbot is designed to provide reliable medical guidance, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and ensuring timely care for those in need. It operates by engaging in conversational exchanges with users, interpreting their symptoms, and following established medical protocols to offer recommendations. The system is trained on medical flowcharts from the American Medical Association and has been tested in over 30,000 simulated conversations, achieving high accuracy in selecting appropriate medical guidance.