Case Study: Providence achieves faster COVID-19 triage and better hospital resource management with Microsoft Azure Health Bot

Providence creates chatbot to improve COVID-19 care and manage hospital resources

Providence, a large healthcare system with 51 hospitals and more than 1,085 clinics, faced a rapid surge of COVID-19-related calls and patient questions at the center of the early U.S. outbreak. Working with Microsoft Azure, Providence needed a way to triage patients, answer symptom questions, and help manage overwhelmed call centers while protecting limited clinical resources.

Microsoft Azure helped Providence configure and deploy Azure Health Bot as an AI-based virtual assistant with voice and chat capabilities, using CDC-based COVID-19 templates and custom workflows. The solution went live in less than a week, handled tens of thousands of local patients and about 250,000 inquiries in the first few months, reduced pressure on emergency rooms and contact centers, and became the basis for the CDC’s coronavirus assessment tool, later adopted by thousands of providers worldwide.

Providence

Maryam Gholami

Chief Product Officer, Digital Innovation Group