VA Launches Chatbot to Help Veterans, Caregivers Access Coronavirus Answers

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has begun using a coronavirus chatbot to help veterans and caregivers find answers to questions relating to the coronavirus pandemic. The Microsoft Healthcare Bot platform was built and implemented in in less than a month for the VA and other agencies.

According to reports from NextGov, the chatbot allows taxpayers to access information on the coronavirus around the clock. The chatbot has targeted responses to prompts relating to testing options, stimulus payments, telehealth services, scheduling, prescription refills, and more.

“VA contact centers have seen a significant increase in calls from veterans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This surge in calls drove the rapid development of VA’s first chatbot,” officials wrote in a blog post. “Chatbot allows veterans access to important information from virtually anywhere, at any time.”

Microsoft offered the services to those “on the frontline” free of charge to help eliminate bottlenecks in the healthcare system during the ongoing crisis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also used similar technology from Microsoft to launch a Coronavirus Self-Checker chatbot which helps initially screen Americans who feel they may have coronavirus symptoms.

“Since March, health organizations have created 1,680 COVID-19 self-assessment bots based on the Microsoft Healthcare Bot service, reaching 33 million individuals and serving more than 336 million messages,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Nextgov. “In the case of the VA, we believe use of Microsoft’s Healthcare Bot Platform has the capability to help support veterans’ needs for COVID-related information while moderating call volumes at VA contact centers during the time of the pandemic.”

The chatbox has specific items and content tailored to veterans such as COVID-19 prevention; COVID-19 testing at VA; my current COVID-19 symptoms (which appears to route to the CDC triage symptom checker); health care, appointments and prescriptions; debt, copay and financial concerns; benefits and claims; and anxiety and related claims. The chatbot tailors new options and questions based on the user’s answers, which can subsequently be used to generate further information. 

Officials from the VA’s Office of Information and Technology, the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Connected Care, and the Veterans Experience Office together helped produce and implement the chatbox within weeks.

“It has been incredible to see VA staff from across the agency come together and deliver creative solutions,” VA’s Chief Technology Officer Charles Worthington said. “This product is a great example of VA’s commitment to using new technologies to improve our services.”