Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) is collaborating with Amazon to provide health information through Alexa.
The voice-assisted technology will help patients—especially the elderly, blind, and non-Internet-connected—to get professional help in seconds.
Amazon’s algorithm uses information from the NHS website to provide answers to questions like: “Alexa, how do I treat a migraine?” or “Alexa, what are the symptoms of a flu?”
Officials hope this feature—part of the NHS Long Term Plan—will help reduce pressure on the health service and doctors by providing information for common illnesses.
“The public need to be able to get reliable information about their health easily and in ways they actually use,” Matthew Gould, chief executive of the new tech-focused NHSX unit, said in a statement.
“Part of our mission at NHSX is to give citizens the tools to access services and information directly, and partnerships such as this are an important part of achieving this,” he added.
Amazon, which recently admitted it keeps voice recordings indefinitely, has no plans to build health profiles of customers this time.
According to CNET, the company won’t share data from the NHS program with third parties, nor will it sell or recommend products based on health information.
Still don’t trust a virtual assistant for potentially life-threatening issues? Try the NHS 111 urgent care line instead.
Get help online or over the phone from a trained adviser who can connect you to a local emergency service or medical practitioner, schedule a face-to-face appointment, or provide self-care advice.
Amazon recently opened the door to select developers to create and launch HIPAA-compliant healthcare skills for its virtual assistant.
Six initial commands allow consumers to receive personalized insights, post-op updates, and daily health tips; schedule same-day appointments; or check the status of mail-order prescriptions.
The new “HIPAA-eligible environment” is available to healthcare providers, payors, pharmacy benefit managers, and digital health coaching companies on an invite-only basis in the US.
Interested organizations can sign up for more information.
More on Geek.com:
- A Smart Speaker Could Save You From Cardiac Arrest
- Alexa Guard Keeps U.S. Homes Safe From Fire, Intruders
- LA Hospital Patients Use Alexa for Hands-Free Communication
