ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHATBOTS AND VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS IN HEALTHCARE: A COMPREHENSIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

The artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have been wildly utilized to improve the efficiency of healthcare institutions. This comprehensive literature review explores the evolution, applications, benefits, and challenges of AI driven virtual assistants and chatbots across clinical and administrative contexts. The study identifies different virtual assistant functions, including diagnostic and clinical decision support, virtual monitoring and adherence, virtual nursing, therapeutic and psychological support, and educational and administrative functions. Each plays a key role in improving healthcare services accuracy, adherence, and workflow while reducing clinical workload. However, major challenges regarding data privacy, trust, digital literacy, cost, and regulatory issues are hindering the application of such technologies.