NUHS, startup Bot MD launch app for quick access to Covid-19 info

Singapore

MEDTECH startup Bot MD has partnered with the National University Health System (NUHS) to launch an artificial intelligence-powered app for frontline medical staff to instantly search hospital-specific information, including Covid-19 guidelines.

The chatbot answers questions about a range of topics including hospital protocols, drug dosage information and on-call rosters.

It also allows hospital staff to record their temperatures by integrating the daily temperature reporting form within the bot's interface.

Over 500 healthcare professionals from NUHS participated in the first-phase roll-out in December last year.

There are plans to expand access to more than 3,000 staff across the NUHS healthcare cluster including Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Alexandra Hospital and the National University Polyclinics by the end of 2020.

"Healthcare has become more complex and clinicians need timely information that is easily accessible," said NUHS group chief technology officer Ngiam Kee Yuan.

Dorothea Koh, CEO and co-founder of Bot MD, said: "Given the current Covid-19 crisis, we are especially honored to have the opportunity to help NUHS frontline medical staff get instant access to the clinical information they need, so they can focus on helping the patients they care for."

Bot MD is a startup backed by Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator and Singapore-based venture capital firm Monk's Hill Ventures.

The smartphone app also allows hospitals to build custom tools. One of the custom tools within the NUHS-Bot MD platform is a chemotherapy cost calculator developed by clinicians at the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore.

It instantly calculates treatment costs based on dosing regimens and drug prices.

The tool serves as a financial counseling aid for clinicians and frontline medical social workers to help their new cancer patients determine appropriate treatment options.

Bot MD said its proprietary natural language processing technology has been used by over 10,000 doctors globally. The Singapore-based startup's partners include Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the National Kidney Transplant Institute.