Inside STAT: Hospitals turn to voice assistants to improve patient care

(HYACINTH EMPINADO / STAT)

A growing number of hospitals are exploring how to harness voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa to improve patient care. At Boston Children’s Hospital, voice programs have been built in to improve the efficiency of ICU care and help doctors prepare for transplant surgeries. New York’s Northwell Health is preparing to put Alexa in private rooms to give patients a new way to access information in their medical records. And Mayo Clinic is using voice technology to deliver wound care instructions to some patients. Behind all those efforts: a fierce fight for health care dollars among tech giants and startups that are investing in voice-enabled technology. STAT’s Casey Ross has the story here.