A Bot for Every Brand: Making the Case for Chatbots in Pharma
If you’ve been on the Internet in any capacity in the last year, chances are you’ve heard about chatbots. It seems like everyone has something to say on the topic. Evangelists will say that chatbots are going to make websites and apps obsolete. Naysayers will say the technology hasn’t advanced yet and the chatbots on the market today are plagued with poor UI and clunky conversational flow. For us in healthcare the truth is somewhere in the middle — every brand can find a viable use case for a chatbot, and when done right, chatbots can shift the paradigm.
“A good chatbot helps users accomplish something efficiently. A great one makes it enjoyable.”
– Jennifer Leigh Brown, Marketing Communications Strategist
Chatbots are primarily automated conversational interfaces powered by artificial intelligence that fulfill specific needs or deliver specific content requested by users.This is not a far-off futuristic technology with a long adoption period. Whether you realize it or not, conversational interfaces and messaging are becoming increasingly popular. Behavioral trends demonstrate that pretty much every demographic has adopted messaging as their preferred mode of communication (Facebook Messaging Survey, Nielsen). In fact, messaging apps usage eclipsed social network usage 3 years ago and the gap continues to widen. Facebook even launched its own Messenger platform, which now has over 100,000 bots operating.
One such bot is Florence, a health assistant that helps users stay adherent with their treatment regimens by sending medicine-specific reminders and information. It can also locate physicians and pharmacies, and help users track their health information. With a robust list of features, Florence can help patients during different stages of the treatment journey.
· Chatbots can boost awareness initiatives, providing reliable and accurate information on different disease states
· Newly diagnosed patients can use chatbots to find doctors and specialists in the area
· Instead of using a call center a newly prescribed patient can receive treatment onboarding and adherence support in the same experience
(for a fraction of the cost)
While chatbots are relatively new to the healthcare space, patients have long been “chatting” about their health on message boards and in Facebook groups.
“With chatbots, we’re able to connect with patients in the always on, always accessible way that they want and have come to expect in every other aspect of their lives.”
– Kieran Alling, Patients & Purpose Chatbot Taskforce Lead
Chatbots allow us to connect with patients in a way that’s more cost-efficient than traditional channels and has the potential to make more of an impact. Take call centers for example. Call centers come at a high price tag, and regulatory guidelines can make scripted interactions a very robotic experience. Chatbots can be a cheaper alternative that offers users a simple and efficient experience to get the answers they are looking for.
Chatbots also have an advantage over channels like email and direct mail. Healthcare brands invest a lot into these channels, but data shows that people are 3.5 times more likely to open a messaging notification than an email, and 4 times more likely to click through a link found in a message (AdWeek). Chatbots can significantly drive conversion.
Because of their versatility chatbots can help make customer interactions more efficient — from the most basic to the most complex. For basic tasks in the healthcare space, think side effects and adherence information. Every person taking a new medication wants to know how to take it and its potential side effects. A chatbot can easily deliver that information to patients in a way that they understand, through a channel they are already comfortable with. On the more complex side there are chatbots like Woebot, which helps users work through anxiety and depression using cognitive behavioral therapy practices.
It’s true that in healthcare chatbots are somewhat of an uncharted territory. But it doesn’t have to be scary. You don’t have to start from scratch or reinvent the wheel. There are already use cases where chatbots make a lot of sense. But if you’re ready to take it on, chatbots have an amazing potential to change the world of healthcare as we know it.
If you are interested in learning more about how chatbots can solve business and customer challenges, please reach out to our dedicated Chatbot Taskforce at edg@patientsandpurpose.com .
