Posted by Erika Greelish on March 27, 2020 | No Comments
A photo of an exhausted Italian nurse, collapsed face down in front of a laptop still wearing her mask, gloves, and other protective gear, went viral after a colleague posted it to her social media. Hospitals in Italy have been overwhelmed by the number of COVID-19 cases. In the offices of doctors and clinics throughout the country, the phones have been ringing off the hook, but there just aren’t enough staff members to answer the calls.
Now, as the virus spreads across the globe, other countries are on high alert, watching with concern as everything is closed or canceled. As doctors and scientists endeavor to find treatments and a vaccine for the deadly virus, private corporations have partnered with governments to increase testing availability and to assist in other ways.
In an effort to help provide answers to anxious citizens and combat the spread of the novel corona virus COVID-19, Balzano Informatik has developed an online tool for self-assessment. Although this chatbot is not a substitute for advice or diagnosis from a physician, it is designed to help provide some guidance as to whether an individual may want to seek a medical consultation.
Through a series of questions, the COVID-19 chatbot can gather information about your specific circumstances and symptoms. An algorithm then assesses your various risk factors. Based on your specific combination of risk factors, the chatbot will provide a suggested course of action. The chatbot’s risk factors and algorithm are based on the most current information from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Center for Disease Control, as well as from direct contacts Balzano Informatik has with doctors at the battlefront in Northern Italy, Switzerland and the United States.
