Tana, a Healthcare Chatbot to Help Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic at a University Hospital in Argentina
Daniel A. Rizzato Lede, Delfina Inda, Juan M. Rosa, Yael Zin, Nicolás Tentoni, Mariano M. Médici, José M. Castaño, María Laura Gambarte, Gastón E. López, Mariana Merli, Carlos Otero, Daniel Roberto Luna · Studies in health technology and informatics · 2022
A Chatbot or Conversational Agent is a computer application that simulates the conversation with a human person (by text or voice), giving automated responses to people's needs. In the healthcare domain, chatbots can be beneficial to help patients, as a complement to care by health personnel, especially in times of high demand or constrained resources such as the COVID-19 Pandemic. In this paper we share the design and implementation of a healthcare chatbot called Tana at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. Considering best practices and being aware of possible unintended consequences, we must take advantage of information and communication technologies, such as chatbots, to analyze and promote useful conversations for the health of all people.