Psychological Artificial Intelligence Service, Tess: Delivering On-demand Support to Patients and Their Caregivers: Technical Report

Cureus. 2019 Jan 28;11(1):e3972. doi: 10.7759/cureus.3972.

Abstract

This technical report highlights how one mental health chatbot, or psychological artificial intelligence service named Tess, has been customized to deliver on-demand support for caregiving professionals, patients, and family caregivers at a non-profit organization. This low-cost, user friendly, and highly customizable service allows emotional support to be scaled to thousands of people at a single time. The following report describes the phased approach to implementing Tess in order to reach staff, caregivers, and patients across Canada and the United States.

Keywords: caregiver support; chatbot; computer based therapy; employee wellness; healthcare technology; nurse support; remote patient monitoring; teletherapy; text-based therapy; workforce mental health.