Automated chatbots screen patients, employees for COVID-19

When the new coronavirus began appearing in the U.S. this year, Memorial Health System in Illinois knew it needed to prepare to screen large swaths of worried patients. So the Springfield-based system set up drive-through screening sites to help triage those with respiratory symptoms. What it didn't expect was the level of interest, amassing more than 4,000 interactions with patients in one week. "We had a lot of what I'll call the'worried well,' " said Jay Roszhart, president of Memorial Health System's ambulatory group. "A lot of individuals who were just wanting information."