As a medical professional, you should be extra cautious about the risks involved in over-automation in regards to patient communication and marketing.
Some platforms, such as Facebook Messenger, allow for real time interaction and pre-set questions and answers. This control allows you to gauge what can be asked and how it's answered, which is important when handling a patient's health related questions.
Other platforms, such as ChatGPT and similar bots, leverage automation and ai, which can actually result in legal issues for a healthcare provider. If a patient asks when they should book an appointment for an emergency and the bot tells them to schedule 6 months out, you can lose the lead. Another instance would be the bot asking for personal information, which may be a breach of HIPAA if the information shared back to the bot is not secure.
As of January 2024, ai is not at the point where it should be having 2-way conversations with patients on your behalf. You can however, install bots (such as those available on Facebook Messenger) and set up automatic responses for canned questions. This allows you to build value, and direct leads (in real time) to your online scheduling app and to your contact information as needed. Your team can also respond in real time- allowing for a higher level of customer service and personal attention.