Alexa Can Actually Be Your Nurse!

Believe it or not, the core of the Amazon Echo device in your kitchen just might be the catalyst that disrupts the entire healthcare industry. While Amazon is reluctant to say much about this move into healthcare, this is really stating the obvious, especially in light of what this device has done to retail!

At the same time, it would seem that most healthcare professionals are still unfamiliar with the benefits of voice technology and the relevance of Alexa in healthcare. In other words, Amazon Echo is capable of some truly amazing things and this potential is increasingly obvious in the healthcare industry.

What Amazon is doing in Healthcare

Amazon has a clear and vested interest in healthcare. With one of the largest workforce’s on the planet and major financial backing, the e-commerce giant has already invested heavily in the space and created a series of novel healthcare solutions. Also, I should point out that Amazon already filed for a license in wholesale pharmaceuticals and has more than enough logistical support to cater for these online medicinal orders.

But what does this technology look like in Healthcare?

1- Helping with Taking Medications:

Libertana Home Health Care have used an Alexa-based online app to help nurses to be more attentive to their elderly clients. With the companion app, the nurse can quickly check if a patient has taken their medication and even provide family members with the same access for their loved one. With this in mind, Alexa is streamlining routine tasks for caregivers and providing peace of mind to family at the same time.

2- Improving Interaction in the Hospital:

Aiva is a startup in Los Angeles that uses an Alexa-powered platform to help patients interact with nurses and control in-house entertainment. Using this platform, patients can ask Alexa to change channel or turn on/off the television and call the nurse for assistance with their mobile phone. While this process enables the patient to get assistance quickly, many experts believe the interactive nature of voice technology can also alleviate loneliness for some patients.

3- Managing Blood Pressure with Alexa Skills

At a time when life can seem increasingly busy and stressful, Omron has launched a sensational watch called “HeartGuide”that can calculate blood pressure and communicate these readings with an Alexa skill. Moreover, this watch is FDA approved and has already won numerous awards from various technology websites. While blood pressure is a very serious and major health issue, the Heartguide watch is also a cardiovascular health technology and another indication in terms of the potential of Alexa skills.

4- Receiving Health Tips to Live a Healthier Lifestyle

Cleveland Clinic has created an Alexa skill that provides daily health tips to patients along with the news, weather and other daily information. Although this might be considered quite a minor advancement, Cleveland Clinic has stated that this is one of many voice-services they intend to integrate for patients.

5- Accessing Live FirstAid Tutorials

Mayo Clinic had also created a new Alexa skill which provides instant access to first-aid information. As part of the skill, users can receive self-care instructions and quick answers from reliable sources on any Alexa-enabled device. Simply put, the user can say things like “Alexa, ask Mayo First Aid how to treat a burn” and immediate answers are made available via the Alexa voice assistant.