3. AI Checkup: A Proposed Solution
Last updated
Last updated
AI Checkup is an AI-powered medical consultation application that aims to solve the healthcare access challenges faced by the world's impoverished population with the vision of providing "accessible and reliable primary care to everyone." We aim to create a world where everyone, regardless of their place of residence, economic status, or education level, can access basic health information and receive the care they need when they need it. AI Checkup will initially focus on developing countries with weak healthcare infrastructure and will eventually evolve into a global healthcare platform to contribute to reducing healthcare disparities worldwide.
AI Checkup primarily targets the world's impoverished population, who are often left behind by traditional healthcare systems, such as:
People who cannot afford to visit medical institutions due to economic reasons: Those who are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford medical expenses.
People whose access to healthcare is limited due to geographic reasons: People who have given up on seeking medical care because medical institutions are located in remote areas or transportation options are limited.
People who lack information about health and medical care: People who do not have access to reliable health information and find it difficult to prevent and detect diseases early.
People who face linguistic and cultural barriers: Minority groups and indigenous peoples who find it difficult to receive information and medical services in the official language.
People who are socially excluded: Refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons, and others who are in precarious situations and cannot receive adequate medical care.
These people exist worldwide and are estimated to number in the hundreds of millions. Smartphones are becoming increasingly prevalent in these regions, making app-based approaches highly effective in providing healthcare access to the poor.
AI Checkup provides the following functions to comprehensively support healthcare access and management for the world's poor:
3.3.1. Multilingual AI-powered consultation (multiple-choice and chat-based) Users answer questions about their symptoms and health status by tapping on options or inputting answers in natural language.
State-of-the-art AI algorithms (natural language processing, machine learning, deep learning) analyze the user's responses and infer possible health problems and related diseases.
Initially, it will support major languages such as English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese, and will then expand the supported languages to meet local needs (e.g., Swahili, Bengali, Hindi).
Language experts and medical teams collaborate to design and supervise consultation content, taking into account cultural backgrounds and region-specific health issues.
An intuitive interface that uses illustrations and sounds is developed to accommodate low literacy rates.
3.3.2. Evidence-based health advice and information Based on the consultation results, the app provides reliable health advice based on WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines and major medical guidelines in each country, tailored to the user's symptoms and situation.
Provides practical and useful information such as lifestyle improvements, self-care methods, proper use of over-the-counter medications, and nutritional guidance.
Supports users in judging the reliability of information by indicating the evidence level.
Collaborates with medical professionals in each country to provide advice that is consistent with locally available information.
3.3.3. Referral to medical institutions If the AI determines that the case is urgent or serious, or if the user requests it, the app links the user's current location information with medical institution databases in each country to guide them to the nearest appropriate medical institution (public hospital, NGO-run clinic, specialist, etc.).
Provides information such as the location, contact information, hours of operation, and languages supported by the medical institution.
Clearly explains the reasons for seeking medical attention and encourages early medical visits.
3.3.4. Health record management Centralizes the user's consultation results, provided advice, information on recommended medications and supplements, and medical records.
Users can track the progress of their health status and share information with medical institutions as needed.
Strictly encrypts and anonymizes data to protect user privacy.
3.3.5. Offline functionality To enable use in areas with unstable internet connections, major functions such as consultation, basic health advice, and medical institution information search are provided offline.
Data is automatically synchronized when connected to an online environment, allowing the latest information to be used.
3.3.6. Community function (future development) In the future, an online community function will be added to allow users to share experiences and information with each other.
Promotes mutual support among people with similar health problems and improves health awareness.
Monitors are in place to maintain a safe community environment free from inappropriate information and discrimination.
The spread of AI Checkup is expected to have the following effects:
Promotion of early medical visits: Encourages timely medical visits, reducing the risk of disease progression and complications.
Reduction of medical expenses: Reduces unnecessary visits and encourages the use of over-the-counter medications, reducing medical expenses for users.
Improvement of health literacy: Improves users' health awareness and self-care abilities by providing accurate health information.
Improvement of healthcare access: Reduces geographic, economic, and informational barriers and improves access to healthcare.
Extension of healthy lifespan: Extends people's healthy lifespan through disease prevention, early detection, and early treatment.
Improvement of public health: Contributes to public health decision-making, such as predicting infectious disease outbreaks and identifying regional health issues.
While there are numerous health-related apps and telemedicine services currently available, AI Checkup differentiates itself in the following ways:
Target Users
Globally impoverished populations
General consumers
Patients with specific diseases
Key Features
Multilingual AI-powered consultation, health advice, medical institution referrals, health records, offline functionality
Symptom checker, health information articles
Online consultations, prescription issuance
Pricing
Free basic plan
Free basic plan / Paid premium features
Paid (consultation fees, service fees)
Partnerships
WHO, international NGOs, national health ministries, medical institutions
Medical institutions, pharmaceutical companies
Physicians, medical institutions
Language Support
Multilingual support (expands based on needs)
Primarily English, some languages supported
Limited to languages in service area
AI Technology
Algorithms specialized for health problems of the impoverished
Algorithms for general diseases
Limited AI use or under development
Data Utilization
Data analysis with a view to contributing to public health
Data analysis for service improvement and marketing purposes
Data analysis for improving efficiency of medical care
By leveraging these strengths, AI Checkup offers unique value in improving healthcare access for the world's impoverished population compared to competing services.