By GREGORY ZELLER //
Good news, expectant women of Long Island: Artificially intelligent “pregnancy chatbots” are now taking appointments.
To be clear, the intelligence is legit: The Northwell Health Pregnancy Chats rolling out this week to obstetrics practices throughout the New Hyde Park-based health system are stocked with tons of real-world knowledge, programmed by top obstetricians and related experts.
But the conversations are artificial – at least, they’re “AI-driven,” according to Northwell, which is using the customizable, conversational chatbot platform as a clearing house of sorts, leading women with important questions during and after pregnancy right where they need to go.
Michael Nimaroff, senior vice president of Northwell’s OB/GYN service line, labeled the chatbots “extremely comprehensive and highly individualized.”
Dawnette Lewis: Healthy babies, healthy moms.
“Northwell Health Pregnancy Chats … are designed to complement the interactions patients have with their providers,” noted Nimaroff, who chairs Obstetrics and Gynecology at North Shore University Hospital and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. “It’s a way to ensure women are never without support, whether they’re in a doctor’s office or in their own home.”
Developed in conjunction with Oregon-based virtual healthcare innovator Conversa Health, the system welcomes pregnant women to register for weekly consults with the chatbot. The regularly scheduled appointments – free to patients and accessible via smartphone, tablet or computer – are preloaded with information based on each patient’s estimated due date and other personalized factors.
However, the AI-generated conversations flow naturally. And they can quickly lead moms-to-be to deep resource libraries covering a wide range of pregnancy and postpartum issues – and even to human consultations, with Northwell Health Solutions nurse navigators at the ready during business hours and Northwell’s Clinical Call Center standing by overnight.
By emphasizing pregnancy health risks, regulating prenatal testing, providing lactation support and otherwise promoting healthier pregnancies, Northwell hopes the AI chatbots – scheduled for broader release at private clinics and OB-GYN practices throughout the health system’s vast catchment area – will help reduce the relatively high U.S. maternal mortality rate, which eclipses the rate in all but a few industrialized nations (in some cases, significantly).
According to Dawnette Lewis, director of Northwell’s Center for Maternal Health, “far too many pregnant and birthing people in this country suffer harm or even die because of problems that are entirely preventable.”
“Northwell is committed to doing whatever is necessary to reduce those risks,” Lewis added. “By bringing together high-tech innovation and high-touch clinical care, the Northwell Health Pregnancy Chats will help keep women and babies safe.”
