Why chatbots will become commonplace in pharma by 2025 · Chatbots are most effective when there is a narrow scope of requests and the solutions are well known and predictable. Chatbots

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Why chatbots will become commonplace in pharma by 2025

Shaping the future of digital health

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Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3

Artificial Intelligence (AI) ................................................................................................... 3

Chatbots ............................................................................................................................... 3

The potential in healthcare ................................................................................... 4

What’s happening in pharma? ......................................................................................... 4

How can chatbots solve healthcare problems? ....................................... 5

Reducing demand on healthcare professionals ........................................................ 5

Helping patients manage their own care .................................................................... 5

On demand patient support ........................................................................................... 5

Meeting customer needs with continuous learning ................................................. 6

Freeing up your medical information team ................................................................ 6

Gaining valuable customer insight ................................................................................ 7

Improving code compliance .......................................................................................... 7

Case studies .................................................................................................................... 8

Early successes in pharma .............................................................................................. 8

Woebot ................................................................................................................................ 9

SafedrugBot ........................................................................................................................ 9

Summary ......................................................................................................................... 10

earthware ........................................................................................................................ 10

About us ............................................................................................................................. 10

Contact information ........................................................................................................ 10

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Introduction

In the rapidly changing world of digital healthcare, there

are an increasing number of ways that technology is being

used to improve patients’ lives and support healthcare

professionals (HCPs) in their delivery of care. Artificial

Intelligence (AI) has started to play a significant role. This

white paper explores AI’s practical application in the form

of chatbots. Chatbots have become commonplace in

the consumer world and will soon be as common in the

pharmaceutical industry. Before we tell you why, let us

clarify the meaning of AI and chatbots.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is the ability of computers to perform human tasks. Whilst the media often portray the

future of AI as a Hollywood styled dystopian world dominated by machines, in reality, there

are a wide range of potential applications for this technology in healthcare.

AI is already used to augment human decisions, improve imperfect processes and increase

efficiency. In May 2019, Google reported that its AI could detect early signs of lung cancer in

CT scans1, in some cases identifying cancers missed by trained oncologists. While still early in

its evolution, studies like this demonstrate the life-saving role AI could play.

In this white paper, we will focus on chatbots, an application of AI that has become

widespread in the consumer world but is only just starting to be adopted in routine

communications in the world of healthcare.

Chatbots

Chatbots are computer programs that use natural language processing (NLP) AI to conduct

an “instant messaging” style conversation with the user. They are text or voice based and aim

to mimic natural two-way human conversation. Many companies are adopting chatbots to

interact with their customers on an “on-demand”, “24/7” basis. The data gathered by chatbots

can be reviewed and used to train the AI to become more effective over time. Machine

learning is increasingly being adopted to accelerate the speed with which chatbots

can ‘learn’.

1 https://www.cnet.com/news/google-says-its-ai-could-detect-early-signs-of-cancer/

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The potential in healthcare There is an expectation across industries that suppliers will consistently build and evolve

technology that aids their customers. The healthcare sector is no different.

According to DRG Senior Digital Analyst, Gintare Greenfeld, “The healthcare industry is

notoriously slow to catch up with new technologies, but AI-powered tech shows great potential

to modernise and improve care. For patients, AI promises a whole new user experience, faster

access to care, a new source of medical advice and health management support.”2

What’s happening in pharma?

Pfizer, Sanofi, and Genentech are just some of the companies exploring how AI can speed up

the discovery of therapies for metabolic and immune oncology diseases.3 The benefits are clear:

faster drug discovery while reducing the cost, time and risk of getting new medicines to market.

As we move towards a future of personalised medicine, AI could assist in the identification of

suitable patients for each therapy, helping HCPs construct tailored medicine regimes for patients.

AI has a clear role to play in the R&D of medicines, but what could it offer pharmaceutical

marketers? The quick wins may come from chatbots, which are already becoming

commonplace in the consumer world where they are used to improve customer service and

increase sales conversion.

2 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/americans-are-beginning-to-call-on-dr-siri-and-colleagues-when-

health-needs-arise-300558015.html

3 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05267-x

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Helping patients manage their own care

Chatbots could play a key role in helping patients self-manage their medical conditions.

Studies suggest that people are much more willing to share information and receive

feedback from a “virtual human” than they are from real people.5 For example, ‘Woebot’6 is a

chatbot that uses Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to help people manage their mental health. In

this way, chatbots provide an opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to add more value

to their support services.

On demand patient support

A major source of consumers’ frustration with websites is not being able to immediately

access answers to simple questions. In a 2019 study of over 2,300 consumers, 83% of

respondents stated they would make messaging their primary means of contacting customer

support if they could be guaranteed an immediate response.7 Chatbots, in their simplest

form, provide an automated question and answer service on websites, and can (if well-

designed) resolve the majority of routine consumer queries.

Younger patients are particularly excited about this technology. 82% of 16 to 24-year olds

would like to see more use of chatbots in the NHS.8 Almost 50% of Babylon Health’s patients

are aged 20 to 29, illustrating the demand for instant healthcare support from the young

adult population.

The average time it takes a company to respond to a message is 10 hours8

4 http://medicalfuturist.com/chatbots-health-assistants/5 https://www.safeinbreastfeeding.com/safedrugbot-chatbot-medical-assistant/6 https://woebot.io/7 https://go.helpshift.com/State_of_CS_Automation_Report.html8 “Data: A Massive, Hidden Shift Is Driving Companies To Use A.I. Bots Inside Facebook Messenger,”

BusinessInsider.com, May 12, 2016)

How can chatbots solve healthcare problems?Reducing demand on healthcare professionals

There are many simple medical questions that do not require the full attention of a doctor

but allowing them to remain unanswered can leave the patient confused and frustrated,

increasing the likelihood that they will turn to whatever information they can find online.

This presents its own challenges. Many patients do not know how to assess the quality or

validity of information they find. This can lead to many unnecessary trips to the doctor, which

chatbots could help prevent.4

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80%

Meeting customer needs with continuous learning

With so many potential uses for chatbots, it is important to find the ‘sweet spot’ where customer

needs are met, immediate efficiencies are created, and the risks are low. Chatbots are most

effective when there is a narrow scope of requests and the solutions are well known and

predictable.

Chatbots provide a customer service function, so the system requires a feedback loop and

consideration of if/when a human should take over the conversation, e.g. a more complex or

urgent request. Regular ‘training’ of the chatbot ensures the customer experience becomes

smoother and more sophisticated over time.

Freeing up your medical information team

The global popularity of online messaging and the maturation of chatbot technology presents

an opportunity for healthcare businesses to engage more effectively and efficiently with HCPs

and patients through their websites. For example, by handling basic medical information

queries, such as questions about dosing, a chatbot could provide immediate answers at the

point the information is needed (e.g. at the point of prescription or dispensing), whilst freeing up

considerable time for medical affairs professionals to handle more complex queries.

Chatbots can answer up to 80% of common questions9

9 https://www.invespcro.com/blog/chatbots-customer-service

Questions bot was able to answer

Actions we want a human to respond to

Questions bot was unable to answer

Questions bot answered incorrectly

Monthly review process

‘Training’ bot to understand more

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Improving code compliance

The adoption of chatbots in the pharmaceutical industry has been slow, possibly due to

the fear of non-compliance with industry Codes of Practice or handling of adverse event

(AE) reports. Ironically, chatbots often reduce pharma’s risk. All chatbot answers can be

preapproved and if a chatbot doesn’t understand a question, it can direct the user to human

help. For simple tasks, chatbots remove the opportunity for human error. They can’t go ‘off

script’ and won’t ‘forget to respond’ to user enquiries. They also have almost unlimited capacity

so can respond to peaks in demand.

A common barrier to the adoption of digital channels in pharmaceutical communications is

the fear of being overwhelmed with AE reports. Chatbots can proactively signpost users to

AE reporting channels to avoid them being submitted through the bot, whilst all questions

received can be automatically exported to pharmacovigilance (PV) teams each day for review

and AE reporting. In the future AI could play a role in quickly sifting through the data and

flagging AE reports in real time for PV teams to follow up.

Gaining valuable customer insight

Customer feedback can often be anecdotal and unquantifiable. But with chatbots, you can see

a full report of all the questions customers have asked the bot. This enables you to review and

analyse what your customers are most concerned about. With real data and customer insight at

your fingertips, you’ll be better equipped to make informed improvements to your products and

services, and ultimately deliver a more effective customer experience.

An example of a chatbot report spreadsheet

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Case studies

Early successes in pharma

As with websites, the frustration with chatbots is that users must find them to use them. This

can be alleviated by taking the chatbot to where the customer already resides, for example,

embedding them into banner advertisements.

BraltusBot

In 2018, earthware created Braltusbot for Teva, a chatbot for HCPs on the UK Braltus website.

Teva also took Braltusbot to HCPs by embedding it in online advertising. This allowed HCPs to

converse with the chatbot without leaving the website they were on.

Within the first 9 months, Braltusbot was asked

1801 questions and achieved 82.4% accuracy.

The campaign picked up gold awards at the

Pharmaceutical Marketing Society Digital Awards

and the Pharmaceutical Marketing Excellence Awards.

Kim Innes, General Manager at Teva UK and Ireland

said, “The experience for a worried HCP must be

seamless. ‘Braltusbot’ uses technology to make

care better, where and when it matters.”

Ava

‘Ava’, a chatbot developed by earthware for Norgine, aims

to maximise successful colonoscopy rates by providing

patients with answers to questions about the procedure and

their bowel preparation. Over a third of all visitors to the

bowel preparation brand website use the chatbot. Since a

successful colonoscopy may prevent a cancer from being

missed, Ava might help save lives!

Kym Jacks-Bryant, Global Digital Marketing Lead at Norgine

said, “Norgine is looking beyond standard channels to

choose the right technology for each problem we want

to solve. We felt a chatbot was the most effective way to

provide 24/7 patient support.”

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Woebot10

Woebot is a chatbot that helps the user monitor their mood

and learn about them self. Drawing from Cognitive Behaviour

Therapy, Woebot asks people how they are feeling and what is

going on in their lives in the format of brief daily conversations.

Woebot also talks to the user about mental health and wellness

and sends videos and other useful tools depending on the users’

mood and needs at that moment.

SafedrugBot11

SafedrugBot is a chatbot that helps healthcare professionals find

out whether a drug is safe for pregnant women and breastfeeding

mothers. It offers readily accessible drug information guides and

suggests alternative drugs that are safe.

10 https://woebot.io/

11 https://www.safeinbreastfeeding.com/safedrugbot-chatbot-medical-assistant/

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Summary AI is evolving rapidly. The early adopters of this technology are already positioning

themselves at the forefront of drug discovery and personalised care. Chatbots present a

low-risk, low-cost way for pharma marketing pacesetters to carve out a reputation for their

brands as innovative, responsive solution providers.

We expect widespread adoption of chatbots to happen across the healthcare sector, but

the speed of that adoption is still in question. It will be interesting to see which companies

capitalise on their absence right now, gaining a competitive edge by providing an alternative

and improved experience for the healthcare professionals and patients they serve, whilst

gathering valuable customer insight.

earthware

About us

The potential applications of chatbots in healthcare are endless but adopting new

technologies can be daunting. We are experts in digital healthcare, with specialism in

chatbots for the pharmaceutical sector. For the last 2 years, we have been leading the way,

launching the first HCP chatbot and the first patient chatbot on a branded pharmaceutical

website, as well as the first pharmaceutical online advertisement to contain an embedded

chatbot. Our chatbots were recognised at the 2019 PM Society Digital Awards, where we

won Gold, Silver, and Bronze across three categories.12

earthware has been building solutions to healthcare problems for the past 12 years, blending

a highly accomplished technical team with a client services team that has over 50 years’

combined experience in the pharmaceutical industry.

Like many digital companies, we love to try out the latest, innovative technologies. However,

we strongly believe that there is no point in technology for technology’s sake. For over a

decade we have helped our clients evaluate the latest technology trends and identify areas

where they can deliver real value. Whether it is working with chemical manufacturers to

help their clients experience field trials from the comfort of home using VR, building Alexa

Skills for quick and simple healthcare education, or working with pharmaceutical companies

to prototype wearable solutions for dementia patients, we have consistently helped our

clients differentiate themselves in crowded marketplaces by delivering real value from new

technologies.

Contact information

To find out more about earthware’s chatbot solutions visit www.earthware.co.uk/chatbot, call

us on 0845 6429 880 or email [email protected] to arrange a demo.

12 https://pmsociety.org.uk/awards/digital/2019/da2019-results-brochure

earthware2 Church Barn

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[email protected]

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