Author: Maggie Koussa, FranklyAI
The customer journey in healthcare is changing with advances in technology and the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI). Challenges facing our health system includes lack of communication, time, support, and resources have all impacted the efficiency and experience of the patient as they move through the system. As we continue to revolutionise healthcare, we need to ensure that technology creates an inclusive and engaging experience for the patient.
Our mission statement, “no voice left behind”, is a reflection to us that change is constant, we need to connect with all parts of the community. “The role of FranklyAI is to remove the barriers to engagement, whether they are cultural, language, financial or just not having enough time.” Matt Ensor, founder of FranklyAI.
Engagement tools like AI, telehealth services, and virtual reality play a prominent role in transforming healthcare delivery and support throughout the patient journey. AI also has a significant role in the aged care sector by assisting people to remain independent for longer, maintain cognitive functions through conversational stimulation, and allows for connectedness.
FranklyAI was designed in response to the need for diversity, equity and representation in data collection and decision-making processes. FranklyAI is a powerful online platform for quickly gathering information in a conversational style, mimicking the engagement of face to face interaction, and displaying insights through an unbiased lens. FranklyAI, working with health practitioners can help remove language and cultural barriers allowing patients to express their thoughts and feedback in their language.
The Talanoa Project is one of our earlier case studies where we worked with the Samoan community in Auckland to provide a space for them to be heard. We have found that people were excited to talk when given the opportunity to express themselves in their language, and we received positive reactions from the community far beyond our expectations. Our learning on combining cultural appropriateness into AI led to our work on the Te Reo Māori version of FranklyAI.
With FranklyAI being a multi-lingual conversational engagement tool, we needed to make sure that it spoke Te Reo Māori with cultural alignment and nuances. Working with a Māori business unit and translators, FranklyAI not only speaks in Te Reo Māori but has been designed with consideration of Te Ao Māori and Mātauranga.
As with other technology like telehealth, FranklyAI is an enabler. Its role is to add value by improving the patient experience. It can do this by supporting various tasks performed by our healthcare professionals, freeing them to spend more time in direct patient care.
The evolution and application of engagement tools could provide unprecedented and unbiased insight into what our community and patients want. It allows us to collect feedback, understand the experience following a consultation or hospital visit, and automate processes and systems. These deeper insights then allow us to create a system designed with everyone in mind.
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