Page 22 - Christiana Care Focus October 2018

Technology Innovation |
‘Alexa, tell me about Christiana Care’
U.S. homes. The study found that more than
70 percent of smart speaker owners use a
Christiana Care is becoming an early adopter of using a popular
Care services and departments, such
as phone number or address. Alexa can answer 60 questions about Christiana Care now, and that number will grow.
“In our quest for health care innovation,
we are going to add more services,” said Catherine Burch, director of the Health & Technology Innovation Center at Christiana Care. “We want to offer enough options to please everyone and not just one option that tries to please everyone.”
Amazon hopes to facilitate that process. In May 2018, the company created a health and wellness team within its Alexa division. One barrier that needs to be overcome is that the Alexa platform currently is not compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Christiana Care is prepared to expand its skill once that happens significantly, Burch said.
voice assistant every day, usually to play smart-speaker voice assistant to C
promote wellness.
Amazon’s Alexa can forecast the weather, tell a joke, call Mom and play your favorite song. With a little help, Alexa can control the lights and keep tabs on your home.
The voice-interaction platform used in Amazon’s Echo and other smart-devices can answer a variety of questions, as well as connect to “skills” created by third-party vendors. Skills are to Alexa what apps are to a smartphone. Instead of downloading them, however, users “enable” them.
According to an Adobe study released in September 2018, smart speakers like Echo and Google Home will be in about half of all
music or make shopping lists.
hristiana Care Health System is currently the only health care system in Delaware with an Alexa skill.
“The care we provide to our patients doesn’t stop when they leave the hospital,” said Drew Fennell, Chief Officer of Strategic Communications and Experience. “We are always looking for new ways to connect with our patients. Our Amazon Alexa skill has the potential to change the way our patients interact with us.”
Currently, Alexa can provide the location of Christiana Care medical-aid units and other general information about Christiana
At present Alexa’s abilities are limited. Ask her what she can do in the future, for instance, and she’ll define the word “future.” But a Q&A session with tomorrow’s model might go something like this.
Alexa, why should we talk to you instead of using the computer or a mobile app?
Alexa: I’m convenient. You can ask me questions while driving, for instance. You don’t need your keyboard. I’m also easy to use. To learn more about me, just ask, “What can you do?”
Health care systems have websites and mobile apps. Why should they create a skill?
Alexa: People use multiple sources for information. They search the Internet. They watch TV. They listen to the radio. They use mobile apps, and now they use me. I’m on their kitchen counter or in their living room. I can talk to you through Amazon Tap, which is portable.
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