#72 Will virtual triage improve patient access?

Guests

Heather Francis, MBA, BSN, RN, Banner Health

Kenneth J. Riley, Jr, Baystate Health

Jason Maude, Isabel Healthcare

Don Bauman, Isabel Healthcare

Summary

Virtual triage bots are autonomous, AI-powered chatbots which help patients find the right care at the right urgency. Health systems, physician practices, and telehealth platforms are deploying virtual triage to improve patient access, safety, and engagement while increasing contact center labor productivity.

What is virtual triage? Why are providers implementing virtual triage? Are consumers using these tools for self-service? How does virtual triage support non-clinical center agents while scheduling patients by phone? Do these tools have clinical credibility?

We explore these questions with two health systems leaders deploying virtual triage for their patients and with two innovators who developed a triage algorithm. We also look at Triage Bot, a commercial virtual triage tool provided by Medchat, HIPAA-compliant chat platform used by hundreds of healthcare organizations.