The computer will see you now: virtual agents improve patient-provider communication
BOSTON—Can computers relate to patients better than human providers? Researchers led by Timothy W. Bickmore, PhD, a professor at the Northeastern University College of Computer and Information Science in Boston, have been testing various healthcare applications for virtual agents and the results suggest this may be the case.
Based on examinations of videotaped provider-patient interactions, including physical gestures and facial expressions, Bickmore and his colleagues have developed a series of virtual agents to help patients develop improved health literacy, identify health risks and self-manage health. He discussed the results and shared demonstrations at the Oct. 1 Future of Health Technology Institute Summit hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Hi, thanks for signing in,” says a friendly-looking cartoon character appearing on an electronic monitor. “We met in the hospital just before you went home. Now that you have left, we’ll be working together to solve any problems you might be having. I hope these discussions will help you talk better with your doctors.”
This is an example of what one virtual agent is programmed to say and just one of the ways Bickmore and colleagues have deployed a virtual agent in healthcare settings, as tool to help patients manage their health following hospitalizations.
“Is there a specific kind of birth control you’d like to learn about?” asks another animated character, this one a virtual manifestation of a family planning counselor. A list of available options appears on screen. If a human user were to select none, the virtual agent would ask about her priorities and provide recommended options with related educational information.
These virtual agents are not intended to produce diagnoses or prescribe treatment, but they may be working as a medium of communication between human providers and human patients. “After virtual interaction, most patients say they prefer instructions from an agent,” according to Bickmore.
Even in earlier stages of testing, when synthesized voices bore little resemblance to human speech, patients were satisfied with the tool once they got over reservations. Adding additional human-like features to the virtual agents, such as the abilities to point and smile, have made patients even more willing to use them. “The more human and empathic we make the agent, the more likely a patient is to log in and continue an intervention,” Bickmore said.
There are multiple reasons patients may prefer a virtual agent to a human, according to Bickmore. Patients won’t feel like they’re being talked down to or uncomfortable repeating a question if they didn’t understand an answer, for instance. In several pilot programs, the virtual agents have encouraged patients to change certain health behaviors or helped increase health literacy. In one program to assess preconception health risks, women on average identified 20 risky behaviors, committed to changing seven of them and actually made efforts to change three to four. Surgical patients who completed a surveys with a virtual agent were more prepared compared to others for discussions with providers, who received printed reports of the virtual meeting.
The virtual agents have been most effective encouraging behavior change in patients already considering ways to improve their health. However, these tools could be utilized by primary care providers to assess risk prior to their appointments and used to encourage them to begin considering behavior change.
In a world where patient-centered care is a primary goal of healthcare, virtual agents could help facilitate patient engagement, shared decision making, goal setting, health planning and problem solving, Bickmore said.
Based on examinations of videotaped provider-patient interactions, including physical gestures and facial expressions, Bickmore and his colleagues have developed a series of virtual agents to help patients develop improved health literacy, identify health risks and self-manage health. He discussed the results and shared demonstrations at the Oct. 1 Future of Health Technology Institute Summit hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Hi, thanks for signing in,” says a friendly-looking cartoon character appearing on an electronic monitor. “We met in the hospital just before you went home. Now that you have left, we’ll be working together to solve any problems you might be having. I hope these discussions will help you talk better with your doctors.”
This is an example of what one virtual agent is programmed to say and just one of the ways Bickmore and colleagues have deployed a virtual agent in healthcare settings, as tool to help patients manage their health following hospitalizations.
“Is there a specific kind of birth control you’d like to learn about?” asks another animated character, this one a virtual manifestation of a family planning counselor. A list of available options appears on screen. If a human user were to select none, the virtual agent would ask about her priorities and provide recommended options with related educational information.
These virtual agents are not intended to produce diagnoses or prescribe treatment, but they may be working as a medium of communication between human providers and human patients. “After virtual interaction, most patients say they prefer instructions from an agent,” according to Bickmore.
Even in earlier stages of testing, when synthesized voices bore little resemblance to human speech, patients were satisfied with the tool once they got over reservations. Adding additional human-like features to the virtual agents, such as the abilities to point and smile, have made patients even more willing to use them. “The more human and empathic we make the agent, the more likely a patient is to log in and continue an intervention,” Bickmore said.
There are multiple reasons patients may prefer a virtual agent to a human, according to Bickmore. Patients won’t feel like they’re being talked down to or uncomfortable repeating a question if they didn’t understand an answer, for instance. In several pilot programs, the virtual agents have encouraged patients to change certain health behaviors or helped increase health literacy. In one program to assess preconception health risks, women on average identified 20 risky behaviors, committed to changing seven of them and actually made efforts to change three to four. Surgical patients who completed a surveys with a virtual agent were more prepared compared to others for discussions with providers, who received printed reports of the virtual meeting.
The virtual agents have been most effective encouraging behavior change in patients already considering ways to improve their health. However, these tools could be utilized by primary care providers to assess risk prior to their appointments and used to encourage them to begin considering behavior change.
In a world where patient-centered care is a primary goal of healthcare, virtual agents could help facilitate patient engagement, shared decision making, goal setting, health planning and problem solving, Bickmore said.