Chatbot development for Rocky Mountain Analytical

Rocky Mountain Analytical (RMA) delivers first-rate functional medicine testing to patients and healthcare providers across Canada. RMA started in 2002 as a small lab in Alberta and has since grown into a major player in the country’s medical and diagnostic laboratories industry through strong partnerships with LifeLabs in 2013 and Genova in 2020.

rmalab.com

Part of RMA’s commitment is to offer outstanding customer service and use innovation to promote Canadians’ health and well-being. To that end, RMA needed a customer support solution that could engage with and present useful information to the patients and healthcare providers that visit their site. This functional extension would enhance the user experience by streamlining customer services, increasing service delivery efficiency, and scaling up the organization’s efforts.

Come up with a functional solution that would leverage the existing web environment built on the Microsoft Azure Cloud Platform.

A custom-designed virtual assistant using Microsoft Bot Framework. Equipped with a large knowledge base, a chatbot accurately answers customers’ queries and guides users to the right resources.

We developed the chatbot as extended functionality to the existing website – which we also created – as a new automated customer support channel to assist with web navigation and inquiries, RMA’s website runs on the Microsoft Azure Cloud Platform, and in order to leverage the same cloud environment, we designed chatbot under Azure framework. Azure Bot Service and Azure QnA power the RMA’s chatbot functions and database.

The chatbot has a simple and intuitive user interface design that makes it easy to use and understand its replies. Additionally, the input prompts and responses follow a natural navigation order that seamlessly gets users the information they need or precisely directs them to where they want to be.

The entire functionality of the chatbot depends on the underlying knowledge base, which we populated with curated questions and answers to give relevant responses to every possible query. The system links to an extensive database covering various areas, including tests, sample collection, ordering, requisitions, user accounts, references, payments, and insurance issues.

We hosted the chatbot's knowledge base in the same cloud environment as its user interface and the entire site. So, there is barely any latency in fetching and processing responses. Users can get instant answers to any request or query, minimizing frustration and speeding up customer processes.

The chatbot is a structured self-service feature that enhances customer experience and expands RMA’s operations in delivering high-quality medicine testing services. It now serves as a secondary customer support platform on an already fully functional website.