AI app helps Quebecois with self-diagnosis

MONTREAL – Quebec patients can talk with Bonjour-santé’s new conversational robot, a hybrid between ChatGPT and an 811 nurse. Called BonsAi, Bonjour-santé’s new artificial intelligence tool allows you to describe your symptoms and find out the possible causes, then get an appointment with a health professional if necessary.

As with an 811 call, the tool can also advise people to stay home for treatment or to go to the emergency room immediately.

BonsAi is offered free of charge, but the appointments offered may be paid, such as those with a doctor in a private clinic. It also includes pharmacists, nurses and physiotherapists. Paying subscribers of Bonjour-santé will have access to other services, such as teleconsultation.

“811 is doing a remarkable job, but 1300 nurses to serve 9 million Quebecers is not much […] We are asking them to do the impossible,” said Benoit Brunel (pictured), CEO of Tootelo Innovation, which is behind Bonjour-santé.

Benoit Brunel founded Tootelo Innovation in 1994, initially as a phone service provider and call centre, and has remained its CEO since its inception. Under his leadership, the company has expanded its operations across Quèbec, growing from a small team of 7 employees to nearly 300, according to the company’s website, while diversifying into multiple sectors focused on technology, information access, and communication. The company’s headquarters is located in Boucherville, Quebec, on the South Shore of Montrèal.

Director of Bonjour-santé, Mèlanie Langlois, adds that a third of calls to 811 are abandoned before the person has been able to get the line. The waiting time is 45 minutes on average.
For Benoit Brunel, artificial intelligence to triage patients, in the same way as a nurse, improves access to the health network. He is not asking for more employees, in a context where there is already a shortage.

And that’s without the risks associated with the misinformation conveyed by ChatGPT or the questions asked to “Dr. Google,” he said.

“[BonsAi’s] artificial intelligence machine has been trained with 30 million medical records, it’s a huge library that he has in mind,” said Brunel.

The tool checks for red flags, which are more serious symptoms, to detect emergencies. BonsAi also contains several artificial intelligence software programs that will double-check before presenting any information.

“Our nurses have done thousands of tests to improve it little by little,” adds Brunel.

He ensures that the data is anonymized, stored on a server in Montrèal and destroyed after use.

In the past, Bonjour-santé has accused Quebec of unfair competition when the government launched the Rendez-vous santé Quèbec website, similar to its own.

“Innovation comes from SMEs, not governments,” said Brunel, who said he is ready to collaborate with santé Quèbec to further deploy artificial intelligence.