COVID-19 online tools at ARC
August 07, 2020
Over the last few months, Austin Regional Clinic has implemented two interactive web-based tools to help answer questions and address concerns about COVID-19. These two tools combine to give you a fact-based understanding of COVID-19 and to help you assess your own condition, if you are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.
Answers about COVID-19
These days, it can be very frustrating trying to find accurate answers to your COVID-19 questions. There is a mountain of information available from a plethora of sources; some accurate and some not. To help you find answers to your specific questions in an easy-to-use manner, we have installed a virtual assistant or “bot” on the ARC website. This interactive device allows you to ask specific questions to easily access the information you require, or to go to a specific topic area without having to wade through multiple articles.
The ARC bot uses information developed by ARC doctors for the ARC COVID-19 FAQs on our website. Their sources include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). If you have a question about COVID-19, our bot will strive to answer it! Find this informative resource at the bottom of every page of the ARC website…look for the purple circle in the bottom right hand corner. Click on the ARC bot icon and start “talking”. Note, you can type in enquiries, or activate the microphone and use voice command.
Take a COVID-19 self-assessment
While the ARC bot does offer a wide range of accurate information, it does not have the ability to diagnose symptoms or offer medical advice. So, for those of you with more immediate concerns, like exhibiting what you suspect are COVID19-related symptoms, we have implemented a COVID-19 self-assessment. A self-assessment is essentially an interactive quiz that you can take to help you assess your issue. In the case of the ARC COVID-19 self-assessment, you will answer a series of questions about your symptoms. At the end of the assessment, you will receive an immediate recommendation on whether you should see a doctor and seek a COVID-19 test. You can even email yourself the self-assessment result and attach it to a message to your care team before your visit. The self-assessment will also suggest other conditions from which you could be suffering, and let you know the level of urgency that your symptoms indicate.
Both of these resources are free to the public. Patients can access the self-assessment via our online COVID-19 information ARC bot on any page at AustinRegionalClinic.com or directly at ARCcovidcheck.com. We encourage you to try it!