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Ask Apollo: AI Symptom Checker

Ask Apollo AI Symptom Checker is an innovative healthcare tool that uses artificial intelligence to help people identify potential health conditions based on their reported symptoms. The tool is designed to assist individuals in making informed decisions about seeking medical care, and can be accessed via the Apollo Hospitals website or mobile application.

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In real life, Ask Apollo AI Symptom Checker has a variety of practical uses. It can be helpful for individuals who are experiencing symptoms but are unsure of what the underlying cause may be, as well as for those who are looking to learn more about specific health conditions. Additionally, the tool can help individuals determine if they need to seek medical attention, and provide guidance on the types of care they may need. Overall, Ask Apollo AI Symptom Checker is a valuable resource for individuals who are looking to take an active role in managing their health and wellbeing.

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1| Synopsis from past research and documentation

  • Brief: Similar idea to the symptom checker in the SympAI system for the Consult vertical. The main idea was to offer patients free consultations.

  • Goal: To accelerate platform adaptation. It was also introduced because "One Tap Consultation" had an excessive amount of drop off.

  • User calling insight for “One Tap drop off”:

2| User calling feedback after 1st launch

  • Lack of clear explanation of what the feature is

  • No Edit Option

  • On occasion, pressing back and returning causes the feature to prompt users to answer the same symptom check question repeatedly.

  • The users were just exploring the app and landed by mistake

  • Because the repeat users are familiar with the doctor, they are less inclined to visit the feature again

  • Lack of trust in AI diagnostics/analysis

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3| User calling questionnaire based on previous metrics

  • Is it easily understandable?

  • Result of this activity/ The diagnosis was it helpful? Did the user consult the suggested medical professionals?

  • Did you feel engaged?

  • Are you able to understand and take appropriate action on the summary page?

4| Corresponding user feedbacks

  • Maximum number of users land on Ask Apollo from pharma homepage

  • Conversion percentages are considerably better for consult homescreen Ask Apollo flow

  • The highest drop is seen in the first step and last step in all the flows : Symptom checker clicked → Symptom checker question action which means lot of users drop off without even answering the first question; Summary screen → Consultation booked

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5| Drop-off Metrics & Analysis

Symptom checker clicked - Symptom checker question action:

60% drop off → Landed by mistake - Unclear communication, don’t know the exact action point that they’re going to receive i.e doctor consultation → Exploring users - pharma/ medicine enquiry → Looking for customer enquiry chat section

Symptom checker question action - Summary screen:

18.5% drop off → long conversation → repeat users don’t have enough confidence that the information which they’ve filled is sent to the doctors → missing symptoms in search

Summary screen - Consultation booked:

65% drop off → 65% drop off → Circle users looking for free consults → Exploring users are looking for the best doctors via AA flow - whom they can consult later → Irrelevant diagnosis → repeat users don’t have enough confidence that the information which they’ve filled is sent to the doctors → Not free atm, want to book at another time → Went to the listing screen to book the recommended doctor as they wanted to read more information about the doctor

Conversion Rate: 10%

6| Who are Ask Apollo users?

  • Repeat users: People who already are taking treatments/ consulting a doctor from Apollo hospitals but can’t visit the hospital. ( Chronic patients )

  • Pseudo users: People using this for their elderly parents who are not technologically savvy, mothers using it for their kids, family members/ relatives

  • Exploring users: First time users of Ask Apollo and apollo 247 in general who can’t visit the hospital due to an injury or high fever or other commitments. Want quick fix like a medicine or a doctor consultation

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7| Ask Apollo User Persona Research

Interview questions :

  • Demographic information: What is your age, gender, occupation, education level, etc.? ( Can be taken from CT )

  • Goals: What are you hoping to accomplish with our product? What are the most important things you are looking for?

  • Needs: What are your current pain points or challenges with similar products or services?

  • Behaviours: How do you currently solve this problem? How often do you use similar products?

  • Feedback: What do you like/dislike about our product? What would you change?

  • Technical skills: How comfortable are you with technology?

User Persona 1- The Frequent Visitor

Goals: 

  • Want to book the best doctor when experiencing minor symptoms

  • Wants to know more info about the condition and possible treatments

  • Want to book appointment and order meds for his father

  • Want to order medicines from this flow too

Needs & Behaviour: 

  • Is already a chronic patient at apollo hospital in Hyderabad to see a Neurologist

  • When doesn’t travel to Hyderabad, he wants to do a quick consultation with doctors related to other minor symptoms

Pain Points: 

  • The recommendation is just on the basis of availability of doctors

  • The recommendation is just on the basis of availability of doctors

  • The conversation is too long for him to enter his details again and again

  • He’s a circle member and looks for free or subsidised consultation from time to time

Use case: 

  • Booking appointment for the best doctors

  • Book medicines in the same flow

  • Know more about a doctor, his exp, qualifications

  • Book a doctor in his locality

  • Book for his family members

User Persona 2- The Busy Bee

Goals: 

  • Wants to book a doctor when her babies are experiencing minor symptoms

  • Want to know best practices of self care for her baby at home

  • Want to order medicines directly from this flow

Needs & Behaviour: 

  • Is already a pharma user

  • She is generally very busy and doesn’t have time to make frequent visits to the hospital. She prefers quick online consultations whenever she has time

Pain Points: 

  • Not able to order meds through this flow

  • Entered the flow with the expectation of finding something more than doctor consultation

Use case: 

  • Quick doc consultation

  • Book medicines in the same flow

  • Self care treatments at home

User Persona 3- The Explorer

Goals: 

  • Wants to book an appointment because she can’t leave the house physically when very sick and injured

  • Wants to know the possible treatments for the experienced symptoms

  • Wants to book the appointment for her grandparents

Needs & Behaviour: 

  • Is exploring Apollo247 as it’s a big name in the south

  • Technologically savvy

Pain Points: 

  • Couldn’t find the symptoms she was looking for and the doctor recommended

  • Her older relatives find it difficult to use the app and hence she is the mediator for the

  • Was expecting to talk to a customer agent to help her out with bookings and medicine orders

Use case: 

  • Book doc consultation

  • Book medicines

  • Book for her family members

8| Ask Apollo Target & Record

  • 1 Million Interaction/day - Increase in completion

  • Needs increase in traffic (Pharma home screen, Home page, Consult page)

  • Increase top of funnel

  • Clear value proposition

  • Completion percentage + Consumption

9| Ask Apollo Goal

  • Engagement (Primary)- In terms of: Sharing information & Providing knowledge and its consumption

  • Product Conversion (Incidental)

10| Tech Support

  • NLG technology/ Synthetic Brain

  • Socrate technology

11| Plan of Action

  • To make branding & communication better for the users

  • To segment questionnaire in a manner, that it looks less time consuming

  • Restructure question pattern

  • Secondary research (Both clinical & non-clinical chatbots)

12| Proposed Features

  • Insertions of feel good messages in between

  • Enquiry length nudge

  • Graphical Representation

  • Disclaimer at the end

  • Option to end assessment in the middle

  • Option to restart

  • Inclusion of subtext in case of multiple select

13| Proposed Flows

  • One symptom punched or more than 1 question has been answered

  • One symptom punched and all non-compulsory questions skipped

  • Attempt at exit before the flow start

  • Summary assessment if only GP speciality is needed

  • Summary/assessment if more than one speciality is diagnosed

  • Drop off after summary page- send prompt

14| Design Thinking

Old Entrypoint

In the past, there were issues with the communication and clarity around the purpose and function of the Ask Apollo entry point. Specifically, some users misunderstood the Ask Apollo service as a chatbot, rather than a symptom checker.

This misunderstanding likely arose from the fact that the entry point did not adequately communicate the purpose and scope of the Ask Apollo service. As a result, users who were seeking a chatbot service may have landed on the Ask Apollo page by mistake, only to realize that it did not meet their needs.

This miscommunication likely had negative implications for both users and the Ask Apollo service. Users may have been frustrated and confused by the unexpected encounter with a symptom checker, while the Ask Apollo service may have missed out on potential users who were looking for a chatbot service.

To address this issue, it would be important to improve the clarity and communication of the Ask Apollo entry point, potentially through the use of clearer language and visual cues that more accurately convey the function of the service.

New Entrypoint
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We have made few improvements, by changing the branding of Ask Apollo, visual cues and better communication by breaking the procedure in steps for clear identification. These improvements can lead to a number of benefits for the Ask Apollo service. First, users are more likely to engage with and use the service, which can increase overall usage and adoption rates. Second, by reducing confusion and misunderstandings, users are more likely to get accurate and helpful results from the service, improving their overall experience.

Overall, clear communication and relevant visuals can be an effective way to improve the performance and user experience of the Ask Apollo service, ultimately leading to greater user satisfaction and improved health outcomes

*UNDER NDA

To  view the entire project and user flow designs, please contact me for an interview to discuss our process and outcomes.

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