OTC ID Doc: AI-Powered Chat to curb AMR

This work integrates AI into social media for antibiotic awareness to prevent misuse and overuse of antibiotics in the community. OTC ID Doc: AI-Powered Chat to curb AMR curbs over-the-counter antibiotics, empowering informed healthcare decisions for common infections like fever, particularly in the developing world.

Dr. Dorairajan Sureshkumar MD, ID Doc, leads our solution. He chairs the Tech in ID Subcommittee - CIDS and is an Executive Member of the API Tamil Nadu Chapter.

The problem we address is the global issue of over-the-counter (OTC) antibiotic sales, which significantly contributes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Recent studies reveal that 63.4% of community pharmacies worldwide dispense antibiotics without prescriptions, with higher rates in low-income countries. This practice persists over two decades, highlighting persistent challenges in regulatory oversight and healthcare access, especially in LMICs.

LMICs face a disproportionate burden of AMR due to high antibiotic use, limited healthcare access, and weak surveillance systems. India, a major contributor to global AMR, struggles with illegal OTC antibiotic sales driven by socio-economic factors. Pharmacies dispense antibiotics without prescriptions, and patients seek them directly due to limited access to doctors and financial constraints, further exacerbated by misconceptions about antibiotic use and low AMR awareness.

To address this, we propose empowering patients through an AI-based WhatsApp bot, reducing barriers to healthcare access and demand for OTC antibiotics, thereby combating AMR in India and LMICs globally. Our solution targets the root cause of illegal OTC antibiotic sales by providing accessible, healthcare guidance through technology.

The OTC ID Doc – AI Powered Chat to curb AMR assists individuals in low- and middle-income countries seeking accessible healthcare guidance for fever or suspected infections. We provide personalized and evidence-based healthcare guidance through our WhatsApp bot, leveraging advanced AI and NLP technologies for tailored recommendations based on symptoms and medical history. Collaboration with specialists ensures advice accuracy. We engage users through awareness campaigns on responsible antibiotic use and a simple onboarding process. We analyse user interactions and gather feedback to improve the tool. Surveys and interviews will help uncover specific user needs. Strategies like user testing, collaboration with healthcare professionals, and seeking user input through social media and forums will be employed for user engagement and solution development.

Our solution, the OTC ID Doc – AI Powered Chat to curb AMR, provides a significant public good by disseminating crucial knowledge on antibiotic use and empowering the public, pharmacists, and healthcare providers to make informed health decisions. By offering free, real-time healthcare support through WhatsApp Business API, we aid individuals who may not have access to immediate medical care, thus reducing healthcare-related costs associated with increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 

Moreover, our solution generates anonymized data on user interactions, which is invaluable for policymakers and researchers in identifying trends and developing targeted strategies to combat AMR effectively. This data serves as a shared public resource, contributing to national, regional, and global efforts to monitor, analyse, and address the growing threat of AMR. 

Furthermore, our solution actively promotes awareness of proper antibiotic use, thereby helping to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance and ultimately fostering a healthier, more resilient global community. In summary, our solution offers a scalable model adaptable to diverse regions and communities, promoting equitable access to healthcare information and support while addressing the urgent challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

Our solution, the OTC ID Doc – AI Powered Chat to curb AMR, is expected to create tangible impact by providing accessible, real-time healthcare support and education on antibiotic use. By empowering users with accurate information through our AI-driven chatbot, we expect to see a reduction in the misuse of antibiotics, leading to better health outcomes and a decrease in antimicrobial resistance.

Our target population includes individuals in low-resource settings, where access to healthcare services and accurate health information may be limited. By reaching these underserved populations, we aim to improve health literacy and promote responsible antibiotic use, ultimately benefiting both individuals and their communities.

While we do not have exact data, our interactions via WhatsApp Business for fever management and antibiotic advice indicate that we provide approximately 6-8 appropriate antibiotic advice per day. This demonstrates the potential for our solution to positively impact health-seeking behaviour and reduce antibiotic misuse. The scalability of our solution allows for broader impact, potentially leading to long-term benefits for public health globally.

Year 1: Initial Implementation and Feasibility 

1. User Engagement: Track daily user engagement with our Fever Bot and interaction frequency.

2. Health Literacy Improvement: Assess pre- and post-interaction user knowledge to gauge health literacy enhancement.

3. Antibiotic Misuse Reduction: Monitor antibiotic sales trends and conduct surveys to measure misuse reduction. 

Year 2: Expansion and Country Customization 

1. Scaling Reach: Measure solution expansion, tracking user and engagement increase in new regions.

2. Health Outcomes: Collaborate with local healthcare providers to track improved health outcomes.

3. Feedback and Satisfaction: Collect feedback to evaluate satisfaction and identify areas for enhancement. 

Year 3: Collaboration & reserach

1. Advanced Health Outcomes Analysis: Analyze data for insights, informing solution enhancements.

2. Community Partnership Development: Form partnerships for responsible antibiotic use advocacy.

3. Multilingual Support Expansion: Enhance solution for broader language accessibility.

4. Integration with National Health Systems: Collaborate with authorities for system integration.

5. Research and Development: Invest in continuous solution improvement.

6. Global Collaboration: Expand partnerships for global antimicrobial resistance combat.

We measure success against our impact goals through several key indicators:

1. User Engagement: We track the number of users engaging with our Fever Bot daily and the frequency of interactions. Higher engagement indicates that users find the information valuable and actively seek support.

2. Health Literacy Improvement: We assess user knowledge before and after interacting with the bot to gauge improvements in health literacy regarding antibiotic use and fever management.

3. Reduction in Antibiotic Misuse: We monitor trends in antibiotic sales data and conduct surveys to measure changes in antibiotic misuse rates within communities using our solution.

4. Health Outcomes: We collaborate with local healthcare providers to track the health outcomes of individuals using our solution, such as reduced antibiotic resistance rates and improved treatment adherence.

5. Feedback and Satisfaction: We collect feedback from users and healthcare providers to evaluate satisfaction levels and identify areas for improvement.

6. Scaling Reach: We measure the expansion of our solution to new regions and communities, tracking the increase in the number of users and engagement levels.

By monitoring these indicators, we can assess the effectiveness of our solution and make data-driven decisions to reduce antimicrobial resistance in the community.

The key barriers that may impact our goals in the next year and the next three years include:

1. Financial Constraints: Limited funding may restrict our ability to scale our solution and reach underserved populations. To overcome this, we plan to pursue additional grants, partnerships with NGOs, and explore innovative fundraising strategies.

2. Policy and Regulatory Hurdles: Adhering to evolving healthcare regulations and data privacy laws may hinder our progress. We intend to collaborate with legal experts, engage with policymakers, and ensure compliance with relevant regulations to mitigate these barriers.

3. Cultural and Educational Barriers: Addressing diverse cultural beliefs and educational gaps regarding antibiotic use and healthcare-seeking behaviour may pose challenges. We plan to develop culturally sensitive educational materials, conduct community outreach programs, and collaborate with local healthcare providers to overcome these barriers.

4. Healthcare Personnel Resistance: Resistance from healthcare personnel to adopt new technologies or changes in healthcare practices due to the general feeling of AI replacing humans could impede our progress.

By proactively addressing these barriers and leveraging our resources effectively, we aim to navigate the challenges ahead and achieve our long-term goals in combating antimicrobial resistance.

We are applying to The Trinity Challenge because it provides an invaluable platform for collaboration and access to expertise essential for addressing global health challenges like antimicrobial resistance (AMR). As a startup from a low- and middle-income country (LMIC), one of our primary barriers is the limited access to a specialized network of experts and organizations focused on AMR. The Trinity Challenge offers a unique opportunity to overcome this obstacle by facilitating collaboration, knowledge exchange, and resource sharing tailored to combating AMR.

 Participating in The Trinity Challenge will enable us to leverage the expertise and resources of the network to enhance the impact and scalability of our solution, the OTC ID Doc – AI Powered Chat to curb AMR. We plan to actively engage with the network, seeking mentorship, partnerships, and knowledge sharing opportunities to further develop and refine our solution. The Challenge's focus on addressing AMR perfectly aligns with our goal of reducing inappropriate antibiotic use, and we believe that by joining The Trinity Challenge, we can significantly contribute to the global fight against AMR.

To initiate, accelerate, and scale our solution, we aim to collaborate with organizations:

1. Government Health Regulators: Collaboration with agencies like ICMR will help navigate regulatory requirements and ensure compliance with healthcare standards, enhancing credibility and adoption among healthcare providers and the public.

2. Political & Social Celebrities: Partnering with influential figures can amplify our message, raising awareness about responsible antibiotic use and promoting adoption among the masses.

3. Social Networks: Leveraging platforms like Facebook and Twitter will enable direct engagement with the public, facilitating discussions and addressing concerns related to healthcare and antibiotic resistance.

4. Trinity Challenge Collaborators: Collaborating with organizations such as Welcome Trust and LSTMH will facilitate scientific communication with users. Collaboration with Meta and Google, leveraging their expertise in social media and digital platforms, can specifically enhance our outreach efforts, maximizing the impact of our messaging and engaging a wider audience effectively. This supports our WhatsApp Business API OTC ID Doc – AI Powered Chat to curb AMR.

These collaborations will help overcome barriers related to awareness, access, and adoption, measured through metrics like increased user engagement and adoption rates of responsible antibiotic use. Ultimately, these efforts contribute to the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.