UMass Chan Medical School Foundation

VaxBot: Pilot testing an AI tool to support physicians in educating patients about immunizations

UMass Chan Medical School, the state’s only public medical school, excels in medical education, research, and healthcare innovation. The UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science supports clinical research, integrating data with electronic medical records. Its Program in Digital Medicine develops and implements health technologies in collaboration with UMass Memorial Health. UMass Chan also houses the Health AI Assurance Laboratory, leading efforts to ensure AI in healthcare is safe and effective, making it the first initiative of its kind in Massachusetts.

This project will enhance the AI chatbot VaxBot to incorporate motivational interviewing techniques and information on the long-term benefits of COVID-19 vaccines. It will be pilot-tested with 30 vaccine-hesitant patients from UMass Memorial Health Care. Additionally, 20 primary care physicians will provide feedback through focus groups, and 10 informatics leaders from various healthcare systems will help identify implementation challenges and opportunities.