PAKISTAN :The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Pakistan has taken a significant step forward in patient services by officially introducing its WhatsApp channel. This new platform aims to provide patients with easy access to a wide range of hospital services and enhance patient experience, with quick and timely response.
This initiative reflects AKUH’s commitment to enhancing patient experience by leveraging technology and ensuring seamless communication between patients and the hospital, as they try to access care or care related information. This also reinforces our commitment to excellent customer service and continues exploration to find ways to make the patient and their family’s experience as seamless as possible.
The inauguration ceremony was held at the Aga Khan University Hospital Contact Centre on Wednesday, 12 July 2023. Dr. Farhat Abbas, the Interim CEO of AKUH Health Services in Pakistan, expressed his profound satisfaction at this initiative, highlighting its potential to revolutionize how patients connect with hospital services, and get any information they need.
Dr. Abbas emphasized the significance of accessibility as one of the four fundamental principles of Aga Khan University Hospital, alongside Quality, Relevance, and Impact. With this launch of WhatsApp, he said, the Hospital has ushered in a new era of convenience and access. “At the same time with our presence in over 130 cities across Pakistan, we demonstrate our commitment to geographical accessibility,” he said.
Dr. Abbas also highlighted the institution’s dedication to financial accessibility through an extensive patient welfare programme. Last year alone, the programme provided support amounting to Rs. 433 crores to over 1.1 million individuals, reaffirming the hospital’s unwavering commitment to ensuring healthcare services are accessible to all, regardless of their ability to pay.
The AKUH WhatsApp messaging service will provide patients with convenient features like booking appointments, accessing appointment details and reports, getting quick answers to questions, staying updated on health packages and disease information, locating facilities, and scheduling Home Health Services. It will also enable patients to manage their healthcare access needs conveniently from anywhere, at any time and at their own convenience.
This new avenue of communication will provide patients with personalized attention, fostering a smoother one-on-one experience. The platform’s user-friendly interface ensures that both new and frequent WhatsApp users can navigate AKUH’s services seamlessly.
An interesting feature of the AKUH WhatsApp channel is its integration with GPT AI which is a powerful tool that generates human-like responses in a conversational manner. While GPT AI is bound by limitations of evolving technology, it can help answer questions for patients and their family members intelligently, making it easier for them to understand their disease and treatment.
AKUH recognizes the importance of privacy and security. The WhatsApp messaging service benefits from the encryption system on WhatsApp’s private messaging, ensuring that patients can share their personal and sensitive medical information with confidence and utmost security.
