Case study
Battling pandemics with the help of AI
In a national health crisis, the population’s need for fast, professional, and trustworthy advice skyrockets. Even with seasonal illnesses, the increase in inquiries is sudden, burdening the phone lines of health offices. The Lower Saxony state health office (NLGA) needed a futureproof solution to make communication with the citizens more efficient. Enter Artificial Intelligence.
Lower Saxony has a population of eight million, making it the fourth largest state in population among Germany’s 16 states. The Lower Saxony state health office (NLGA) is the state’s central authority for communicable and non-communicable diseases and health risks. The NGLA aims to promote and protect the health of the people of Lower Saxony.
1 week, 1000 phone calls
When COVID-19 hit Germany, the Lower Saxony state health office’s phone lines were overflooded with people hungry for information about this fast-spreading new disease. The health office received well over 1000 telephone inquiries a week. The delegation of calls via a switchboard could not be handled due to the overload, both in terms of personnel and infrastructure. However, the majority of the calls had identical questions that could have been answered using standardized templates.
Given that the last four pandemics occurred almost every 15 years on average, and some believe that pandemics have been happening more often in recent decades, the NLGA needed a solution that would be futureproof not overcrowding their phone lines again, but still giving people the information and peace of mind that they needed.
Efficacy through the secure use of AI
We developed an AI-based chat and voice bot for the Lower Saxony state health office (NLGA) built on our AI solution Nortal Tark. With the help of the intelligent assistant named Nova, citizens can ask NLGA questions around the clock while relieving the health department’s employees of some of the work burden.
Users can call up the chatbot on the NLGA website, ask their questions, and receive an answer within seconds, for example, on specific diseases such as COVID-19 or measles or even recommendations on what to do in the case of head lice.
This turnkey solution has the secure use of AI at its core – on a secure database that the NLGA controls 100 percent. Nova collects information from several knowledge sources, which the NLGA previously views, checks, and selects. The database is, therefore, professionally curated, can be constantly expanded by NLGA, and protected against data misuse. The intelligent assistant quickly acquires new information and understands the context of the content, making communication with the citizens futureproof. It answers standard questions in various languages and in the NLGA’s tone.
Dr. Fabian Feil, President of the NLGA
"We are proud to be the first authority in Lower Saxony to launch an AI-supported chatbot, thus significantly improving communication with citizens even in the event of a crisis. A big thank you goes to our colleagues at Nortal, who were able to accurately identify our needs and, together with our team, in a very short time created a more than competitive solution using new technology."
24-hour service with minimal burden
The project makes the NLGA a digital pioneer in the public sector. It exemplifies how generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can be used in administrative authorities.
Employees’ time answering simple inquiries is reduced, which is particularly helpful in crises during epidemics or seasonal illnesses. The more efficient processing of queries leaves them more time to focus on more complex tasks and inquiries.
The benefits of implementing Nova
Good user experience
Users can easily access the chatbot on the NLGA website, benefitting from a 24-hour chat service without language barriers.
Futureproof
With the help of generative AI and LLMs, the chatbot quickly acquires new information and understands the context of the content.
Curated database
The chat assistant collects information from multiple knowledge sources that the NLGA views, reviews, and selects.
Streamlined
The work burden of the employees of the NLGA is significantly relieved, especially in crises.
Accelerating the adoption and value of AI
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