Howdy guys, just through up a healthbot thats able to provide quick definitions, symptoms, and treatments to a variety of different diseases and conditions. Check it out on FB Messenger. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/afyahealth1/

Me: my arm is bleeding
Bot: Sorry I could not find anything on that, Steve. Could you ask another question?
Me: There is blood coming from my arm
Bot: Sorry I could not find anything on that, Steve. Could you ask another question?

But Steve, “my arm is bleeding” isn’t a question. Perhaps “what should I do if my arm is bleeding” would be a better question?

granted, there should be responses for “my arm is bleeding”, but…

Ok, to be fair, I asked it just that question (“What should I do if my arm is bleeding”), and here’s the response:

Symptoms of stroke areSudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body)Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speechSudden trouble seeing in one or both eyesSudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordinationSudden severe headache with no known causeIt

It seems that the answer was cut off, and there are several place where words were joined together improperly.  And, of course, the answer didn’t match the question, so…

Still, I think it’s a fair sstart, and after some tweaks and improvements, this may turn out to be a useful chatbot.

I asked it:
“What can I take to relieve a headache?”
and got this answer:

“Symptoms of stroke areSudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body)Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speechSudden trouble seeing in one or both eyesSudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordinationSudden severe headache with no known causeIt”

Me: What should I do if I feel faint?

Bot: Your doctor may use many tools to make a diagnosis:Medical historyComplete examBlood testsSkin biopsy (looking at skin samples under a microscope)Kidney biopsy (looking at tissue from your kidney under a microscope)What are the treatments for lupus?There is no cure for lupus, but medicines and lifestyle changes can he

I would have though advising to sit down may be best…

You may have guessed but I HATE with a passion bots that try to offer medical advice. People that use bots can be very gullible at times and believe that because a computer has told them something, it must be true.

Some people will look at the above and see that because I feel faint, there is no cure and I must change my lifestyle after a doctor looks at my kidney tissue under a microscope! This will genuinely scare some people.

And of course, what if the bot recommends taking an aspirin for something like a headache and it turns out to be some kind of brain injury??

Doctor: Sorry Mr Worswick, but you have a brain tumour that is now so advanced, it is inoperable
Me: WHAT?!?! facebook messenger said I should take an aspirin.

By all means provide definitions but please don’t make a medical bot like this

I will leave the medical diagnostics to Watson, not Facebook!

Interesting

Absolutely @Carl_B - the ability for systems like Watson to diagnose is very different from a system that can engage in meaningful conversation with a patient.

Me: What are the causes of hair fall?
Chatbot: Lack of protein.

It sounds good and well working.

**Edited by Steve to remove the unrelated spam**