On the Potential, Feasibility, and Effectiveness of Chat Bots in Public Health Research Going Forward

Abstract

This paper will discuss whether bots, particularly chat bots, can be useful in public health research and health or pharmacy systems operations.  Bots have been discussed for many years; particularly when coupled with artificial intelligence, they offer the opportunity of automating mundane or error-ridden processes and tasks by replacing human involvement with bots. This paper will discuss areas where there are greater advances in the use of bots, as well as areas that may benefit from the use of bots, and will offer practical ways to get started with bot technology.  Several popular bot applications and bot development tools along with practical security considerations will be discussed, and a toolbox that one can begin to use to implement bots will be presented.