Bot MD Raises $5 Million to Expand AI Chatbot for Doctors in Asia

Bot MD Secures $5 Million Series A Funding to Expand AI-Powered Doctor Assistant

The urgency faced by healthcare professionals, particularly during the pandemic, is being addressed by Singapore-based Bot MD. Their AI-driven chatbot empowers doctors to swiftly access vital information directly from their smartphones. This eliminates the need for contacting hospital operators or navigating complex internal networks.

Series A Funding Details

Today, the startup announced the successful completion of a $5 million Series A funding round. Monk’s Hill Ventures spearheaded the investment.

Additional investors participating in this round include SeaX, XA Network, and SG Innovate. Angel investors Yoh-Chie Lu, Jean-Luc Butel, and Steve Blank also contributed. Notably, Bot MD was a participant in the Y Combinator summer program in 2018.

Expansion Plans and New Features

The newly acquired funds will be strategically allocated to facilitate expansion throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Key target markets include Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and India.

Furthermore, Bot MD intends to enhance its platform with new functionalities. These additions are directly responsive to the evolving needs of hospitals and healthcare organizations, particularly those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, the AI assistant supports English. Plans are underway to introduce support for Bahasa Indonesian and Spanish languages later this year.

Current Adoption and Usage

Approximately 13,000 doctors currently utilize Bot MD across prominent organizations. These include Changi General Hospital, National University Health System, National University Cancer Institute of Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, Parkway Radiology, and the National Kidney Transplant Institute.

Streamlining Information Access

According to co-founder and CEO Dorothea Koh, Bot MD consolidates hospital information typically dispersed across multiple systems. This consolidation significantly simplifies access for medical staff.

Without Bot MD, doctors often face delays in obtaining essential information. Locating on-call staff and their contact details, for instance, traditionally requires contacting a hospital operator. Drug information necessitates a separate call to the pharmacy.

Accessing updated guidelines and clinical protocols frequently involves locating a computer connected to the hospital’s intranet.

The Value Proposition of a Unified Interface

“Bot MD essentially provides a single, searchable interface for the content they require, available 24/7,” explained Koh.

COVID-19 Response and Improved Compliance

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bot MD introduced a feature that streamlines temperature recording. When a healthcare provider types “record temperature” into the chatbot, a pre-filled form is instantly presented.

This feature has demonstrably improved compliance, as many were previously accessing their organization’s intranet twice daily for this task.

Rapid Onboarding and AI Training

The time required to integrate Bot MD varies based on the complexity of existing information systems and the volume of content. However, Koh emphasizes that their proprietary natural language processing chat engine enables relatively rapid AI training.

As an example, Changi General Hospital was successfully onboarded in under 10 days.

Future Development and Clinical Applications

Bot MD’s future roadmap includes the addition of new clinical applications to its platform. These will encompass integrations with electronic medical records (EMR), billing systems, scheduling tools, clinical alerts, and chronic disease monitoring capabilities.