Photo courtesy of Amazon.com, Inc.
The Alexa Skill can schedule regular and specialist doctor appointments, book urgent care COVID-19 tests, and share healthy lifestyle tips.
With the announcement of a new Amazon Alexa Skill designed to use voice-enabled technology to help patients access important healthcare resources related to COVID-19, you’ll finally get to use Alexa for something better than weather reports and playing Spotify.
Westmed Medical Group, the award-winning Westchester multispecialty medical organization, has developed a new Amazon Alexa Skill that residents will want to note. “My Westmed” will provide a digital front door through which patients can easily access doctors and technology to help them manage their day-to-day lives.
The skill includes prompts such as “Save my spot in urgent care” for patients to schedule COVID-19 testing or clearance and “Make an appointment with a provider” to find a Westmed provider of any specialty and book an appointment on the spot. My Westmed will also be equipped with the capability to provide the latest COVID-19 updates released by Westmed Medical Group upon the simple command: “Alexa, get tips for healthy living.”
“One of the most crucial health determinants is access to quality care,” says Anthony Viceroy, CEO of Westmed Medical Group. “As the industry continues to move towards further integration with health technology, Westmed is committed to employing and adopting new tech to deepen the patient/provider relationship, even outside of the doctor’s office.” The new technology will allow patients to be in constant digital contact with their healthcare provider long after their appointment.
Westmed’s Alexa Skill will work with any Alexa-enabled device, including Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Fire TV, and others for a multitude of touchpoints throughout the home. Patients can enable the skill by visiting the “skills” section of the Alexa app and searching for “My Westmed,” then clicking “enable,” or by simply saying, “Alexa, enable My Westmed” to any Alexa-enabled device.
“Keeping pace with the latest technological innovations is a priority at Westmed,” says Viceroy. “We know that in this increasingly digitized world, it’s important to meet our patients where they are.”
Where we are now is marveling at this impressive new digital tool which will take a lot of the headache out of trying to call or navigate our provider’s website to schedule an appointment. And where we will be in the future looks exceedingly bright as practices like Westmed continue to develop new technologies that will allow us to take a more active role in our health and well-being.
