Amazon Alexa Integrates WebMD to Deliver Voice-Enabled Health Information

VCBeat has learned that Amazon recently partnered with WebMD to integrate the AI voice assistant Alexa into its platform. As the largest healthcare services website in the United States, WebMD boasts the world’s most extensive repository of health and medical information and is the professional website most favored by physicians globally for paid online access.

Following the integration, consumers no longer need to rely on traditional mouse clicks to look up health information on WebMD; they can now simply ask questions via voice. To date, this voice assistant service enables the WebMD Q&A feature on any Alexa-enabled device, including Echo, Echo Dot, and Amazon Fire TV.

Users can inquire about treatments for common conditions (“Alexa, ask WebMD how to treat a sore throat”), definitions of basic diseases (“Alexa, ask WebMD what diabetes is”), and side effects of certain medications (“Alexa, ask WebMD to tell me about amoxicillin”). Alexa will respond with answers provided by WebMD in easy-to-understand language, offering treatment recommendations.

This is indeed a major advancement in artificial intelligence.

“Each month, nearly one-third of U.S. internet users turn to WebMD’s website and app for answers to health-related questions. Now they have another option, as simple as asking Alexa,” said Ben Greenberg, Vice President at WebMD, who led the product team that developed the new voice feature.

Voice-enabled interfaces are growing increasingly popular for many reasons. Typically, through hands-free operation, speech is obviously faster than typing; when used correctly, it allows consumers to access the information they need more easily and quickly. Although anyone can activate Alexa or other voice assistants, which then search databases for results, a usable answer is not guaranteed every time.

The goal of WebMD’s integration is to bypass potentially erroneous health information searches by directing queries to the company’s content library. Therefore, the query format must be precise. For example, you can search by asking, “Alexa, ask WebMD to tell me about type 2 diabetes,” or “Alexa, ask WebMD what an echocardiogram is.”

Users can also request that information be sent to the Alexa app in text format, directly receiving links to WebMD’s extensive repository of raw answers.

Alexa offers free self-service tools and open APIs to facilitate the development of third-party products. To date, developers have created more than 10,000 skills, with Alexa actively seeking breakthrough opportunities in the healthcare sector.

Since the launch of Alexa, Amazon has integrated several health-related features with its voice assistant. For instance, the company partnered with Fitbit to enable Alexa to notify users about sleep, activity, and weight data tracked by wearable devices. In April 2016, Boston Children’s Hospital officially launched an application called KidsMD in collaboration with Alexa, allowing the device to provide parents with basic health advice on children’s fevers and medication dosages.

In December 2016, Orbita launched a home health tool based on Amazon’s smart device Echo, providing patients with voice-interactive services such as medication reminders. However, Orbita also supports Google Home, Apple Siri, and Microsoft Cortana. Recently, at the HIMSS 17 conference, HealthTap deployed a physician AI application using Alexa.

Rob Pulciani, Director of Amazon Alexa, said in a statement: “We are excited that WebMD is bringing its technology to Alexa. With WebMD, customers can ask Alexa health-related questions via voice commands. The convenience of this voice-based experience will become widespread in the future, driven by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence.”