Lupin launches chatbot for patients for health-related queries

Drug maker Lupin said Friday it has launched a computer programme specially designed to provide medically verified information for health-related queries.

The Mumbai-based firm has come up with a chatbot named 'ANYA', which is the first of its kind to be launched in the country for disease awareness, Lupin said in a statement.

A chat bot is a computer programme or an artificial intelligence (AI) which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods.

Chatbot as a technology has enormous potential to aid in medical assistance and to support in building awareness and breaking myths associated with various therapies, Lupin President - IRF Rajeev Sibal said.

The company is taking the first step to offer this artificial intelligence based chatbot for patients and health-givers and believe this will be a game changer in the field of disease management in the future, he added.

This will also be a significant step in providing better access in rural markets as we adopt and launch digital healthcare platforms for better outreach, Sibal said.

To start with, ANYA would be making relevant information related to diabetes available to its users. Recent research suggests that India is estimated to have had 72 million cases of diabetes in 2017 and the figure is expected to almost double to 134 million by 2025.