Amazon's Alexa Using WebMD To Answer Health Questions

(RTTNews) - WebMD Health Corp. (WBMD), a provider of health information services, said that consumers can now get answers to their health-related questions through Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. This will give Alexa users a trusted, easy-to-use source for medical information in the comfort of their homes.

Beginning Tuesday, users of Amazon Alexa-enabled devices can ask questions about health-related topics, including health conditions, drugs, medical tests, side effects, symptoms and treatments.

With the help of WebMD, Alexa will respond by providing physician-reviewed, medically appropriate answers in "plain, accessible language".

Users of Alexa-enabled devices, such as Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Fire TV and others, can access WebMD's library of health information once they have enabled the skill by saying, "Alexa, enable WebMD skill".

Once enabled, users can ask questions in a variety of different ways to get an easy-to-understand answer. The questions may be asked by starting with the phrase "Alexa, ask WebMD..."

The questions may include "Alexa, ask WebMD to tell me about type 2 diabetes," "Alexa, ask WebMD to tell me about amoxicillin," or "Alexa, ask WebMD what is an echocardiogram."

According to WebMD, nearly one-third of the total online U.S. population turn to websites and apps in search of answers to their health-related questions and with Alexa, they now have a new option.

Voice-enabled interfaces are growing in popularity as they are generally hands-free and as people can talk faster than they type. They also make it easier for consumers to quickly and easily get the information they require.

In addition to providing answers via voice, WebMD will give users the opportunity to request that additional information be sent in text form to their Alexa app.

Alexa users who opt to do so will receive in their Alexa app a card containing the original answer to their question and a URL where they can find more information on WebMD.com.