There is a nurse that is about to work in every hospital in the country. If that sounds impossible, then perhaps you have to meet Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is not your usual health care professional. She's a virtual agent created by Northeastern University computer science assistant professor Tim Bickmore and his team. She's assigned to work with patients who are about to be discharged, providing additional instructions and information. She also asks questions for further assessment.
While the idea of dealing with virtual nurse may feel like being in a Twilight Zone, patients who have met her expressed a different kind of reaction. Over 70% would prefer to talk with the likes of Elizabeth than a real physician or nurse.
It could be because virtual nurses don't make them feel rushed. Elizabeth is willing to wait until you key in your preferred answer among the choices provided. Moreover, you only have to coordinate with real nurses when you require more information that is already out of scope of the virtual nurse.
Elizabeth, as a moving graphic, still has plenty of room for improvement. However, it's designed to act more naturally than other animated characters or plainly computers.
In order to create her, Bickmore and his team needed to observe how nurses and patients interact with each other. This explains the presence of physical or non-verbal expression in Elizabeth such as raising eyebrows. Elizabeth also engages the patient in a more casual conversation such as about the weather or sports, making the patients feel more at ease with her. Each virtual session lasts for half an hour.
Elizabeth, who underwent a clinic trial in Boston Medical Center, may also have been contributing something significant to health care. In a study that is currently under review, those who had interacted with her before discharge were more than likely to have made follow-up with their primary doctor. Patients also tend to provide a more detailed and correct health data during their sessions with the virtual nurse.