Soft-launched in February, the “triage nurse in your pocket” is proving to have high accuracy and utility.
Health insurance company nib is launching a “symptom checker” as part of its app, aimed at helping international students and workers to find treatment from the Aussie health system.
According to a statement from health and travel insurer nib, it has partnered with Polish company Infermedica, a specialist in artificial intelligence for the delivery of “efficient, safe and reliable care” to patients.
Since its soft launch in February 2024, the symptom checker has been accessed more than 5000 times through the nib app.
“Of those who completed an assessment, 64% were referred to a GP, a further 15% were directed to a hospital ED, and 21% were advised to monitor their symptoms carefully from home,” said the company.
The symptom checker is available to all nib members in Australia and is aimed, in particular, at international students and workers, offering guidance on where and how to seek treatment while in Australia. The symptom checker, accessible via the nib app, is available in English and simplified Chinese.
CEO of nib for international visitors James Barr said the tool was part of a suite of measures designed to provide “smooth pathways”.
“The symptom checker supports students and workers as they navigate their way through the Australian healthcare system, helping them make the right choices about the level of care they may need,” said Mr Barr.
“It can help direct members to the right care pathway and, if needed, book a GP telehealth appointment seamlessly through the nib app with nib’s GP virtual health service.
“This tool is one of a suite of measures used by nib, supported by technology, to ensure members have a smooth pathway to proper medical care.
“AI-powered health tools, such as symptom checkers, can help keep non-urgent medical cases out of emergency departments, ensure people get the right level of medical attention, and relieve pressure on hospitals.”
Chief medical officer of nib Dr Rob McGrath said the Australian health system was “unique”.
“People who are new to the country, particularly those familiar with vastly different health systems, may find our system difficult to navigate or not know the most appropriate place to access care,” he said.
“With the symptom checker, members are triaged rapidly via the app, using the latest available medical evidence, so they can understand how urgent their medical issue may be, and the best place to get care.
“Where a member is given advice to self-care at home, rather than seeking medical treatment immediately, they are advised to monitor their symptoms and seek medical advice should things change.”
Dr McGrath told The Australian that the AI-powered symptom checker worked differently from the usual algorithms.
“It’s kind of a new approach on the traditional decision tree algorithms. It’s much more probabilistic modelling,” Dr McGrath was quoted as saying.
“There’s an inference engine which kind of changes the next question based on previous questions and risk factors and demographics.
“It’s much more nuanced to the individual. And it’s a little more dynamic, which is the way doctors and nurses work inherently, so it tends to be shorter and more focused and post traditional decision tree algorithms.”
Dr McGrath told The Australian the AI symptom checker had achieved 97.2% accuracy since its soft launch by nib in February.
“In fact, there was a study in the Medical Journal of Australia in 2020, which cited 36 online symptom checkers and this platform outperformed all of those for every measure. It’s accurate and it improves over time as more people use the platform.”
The symptom checker is available to nib members although it is aimed specifically at international students and workers seeking treatment while in Australia.