Who?
Healthwords has been launched by consumer healthcare business Clinova. Dr Tom Maggs, Healthwords’s chief medical officer, is general manager and head of AI at Clinova and a practising paediatrician.
Why?
One of the world’s first conversational AI tools solely focused on providing healthcare advice and self-care products in the UK, it aims to help free up millions of unnecessary NHS appointments.
What?
Healthwordsy uses a template similar to ChatGPT but makes the search specific to a single sector. It is powered by machine learning algorithms that have been trained on verified medical content from a team of over 50 doctors and pharmacists including 200,000 medical words and draws from a medical lexicon of more than 97,000 medical terms.
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How?
When users input their question or symptom into the conversational search function, the generative AI technology will provide medically verified answers or advice, and then recommend self-care products if directed to do so.
Users will also have the option to read more about their condition in full-length verified medical articles or chat online with a human pharmacist in real-time should they want a second opinion. The user can then choose to purchase self-care products and arrange for them to be delivered to their homes all through the single platform.
Healthwords is especially relevant for those who want non-urgent healthcare advice but don’t have the time or ability to visit the pharmacist during standard working hours. While it is not designed as a replacement for visiting a medical professional, it educates users in self-care, removing the stigma or apathy associated with seeking in-person advice about certain personal symptoms.
Where?
Clinova is based in London.
They say:
Sir Simon Burns, government liaison officer for Clinova and former MP and Minister in the Department of Health: “We are very excited by the launch of Healthwords. As we have seen more generally, AI-powered conversational search tools have the power to transform people’s lives, and this is especially true in healthcare. Our self-care advice product has the advantage of being free, easy-to-use and anonymous. We think it will be particularly attractive to individuals, who do not have the time to visit a medical professional for less serious conditions.”
Dr Maggs: “The launch of Healthwords could be a real breakthrough because there is a strong movement for consumer empowerment, especially in healthcare. Most consumers are savvy with the internet and are willing and able to search for answers that are relevant and tailored to their individual circumstances. Many of them prefer this type of interaction – anonymous, on their terms, at their convenience.”