Piedmont Healthcare, an 11 hospital system with over 500 locations, was just eight months into their chatbot roll-out when a crisis hit. Their contract with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield expired on March 31st, 2018 putting thousands of Georgia patients in healthcare limbo.
Without a contract, Piedmont was suddenly considered an out-of-network provider for Anthem members. This meant significant out-of-pocket costs for any Anthem patient that wanted to continue to see physicians or receive care from Piedmont Healthcare. Understandably, there was a lot of concern from the public and patients during this contract dispute. Luckily for Piedmont, they had a new chatbot that could help keep patients informed.
In the consumer world, chatbots are everywhere. It is almost impossible to dial into a support line without running into an automated chatbot that filters and directs your call to the right type of agent. Nor can we visit a consumer-facing site without a helpful window popping up with a virtual sales agent (chatbot) ready to guide us to a purchase.
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