The Virtual Doctor: The Online Tool to Organise Unscheduled Visits for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Patients Using Machine Learning

Abstract

It has been predicted that there will be an influx in the number of adult Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients over the next five years. This increase will add further strain to the currently overworked system. Patients with CF are required to meet with their Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) approximately every four months. If a patient has any health-related concerns in-between these appointments, they need to undergo a phone evaluation. These phone calls can be sporadic and require a member of the MDT to be on hand causing a strain on resources and time. The Virtual Doctor project aims to reduce this effect by creating an online evaluation service, where patients interact with the Virtual Doctor using speech recognition and speech synthesis technologies within their own web browser. The Virtual Doctor will work by generating a report from the patient’s visit which is then evaluated and sent to the MDT to action. The patient will also be given feedback from the visit which outlines when the team will be in contact. This paper will discuss the design requirements that need to be met for both the CF patient and the MDT, as well as the implementation of the Virtual Doctor tool. The tool has also been placed under a pilot study with 12 participants, where their experience using the tool was rated. The overall results were positive which shows that this tool may benefit both patients and medical staff allowing patients to learn about their own condition and health status while improving time and resource management.