Clare, the virtual assistant chatbot on the
home page of OSF HealthCare,
is now equipped to screen for and educate the public about COVID-19.
“OSF HealthCare wants to reduce anxiety during this uncertain time
with the COVID-19 situation,” said Abby Lotz, vice president, OSF
Saint Gabriel Digital Care. “To ease concerns, we are encouraging
the public to use Clare, our virtual assistant to get the most up to
date information, share symptoms, and more. Clare provides a safe
experience for consumers to access medical professionals without the
need to travel to a facility and risk possible exposure.”
Launched in December 2019, Clare was updated on March 13, 2020 to
provide screening and education directly related to COVID-19. The
chatbot will listen for symptoms of COVID-19 and ask relevant
follow-up questions, such as travel history, and whether a person is
aware if they’ve been exposed to others with the illness.If
necessary, Clare will direct patients to a newly established triage
line. Staffed 24/7, community members who are symptomatic or
considered at-risk will be able to access trained medical
professionals at no cost for advice on testing and care.
“It’s a challenge for people to know which type of care is best
because people aren’t trained medically to triage their cough or
fever,” said Lotz. “We believe this innovative solution for patients
will be extremely helpful for everyone in the communities we serve
to better prepare for and protect themselves from the spread of
COVID-19.”
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Clare will continuously be updated based on
guidelines from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention and the
World Health Organization.
Additional information:
Clare can be used on Firefox, Chrome, and mobile browsers but does
not work in Internet Explorer.
If your browser has a pop-up blocker, it will need to be turned off
before Clare will be activated.
About OSF HealthCare OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system
owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis,
headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. OSF HealthCare employs more than
23,600 Mission Partners in 147 locations, including 14 hospitals –
nine acute care, four critical access – with 2,097 licensed beds,
and two colleges of nursing throughout Illinois and Michigan. The
OSF HealthCare physician network employs more than 1,500 primary
care, specialist and advanced practice providers. OSF HealthCare,
through OSF Home Care Services, operates an extensive network of
home health and hospice services. It also owns Pointcore, Inc.,
comprised of health care-related businesses; OSF HealthCare
Foundation, the philanthropic arm for the organization; and OSF
Ventures, which provides investment capital for promising health
care innovation startups. More at https://www.osfhealthcare.org.
[Text from file received from
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