Developing an AI Pharmacy Chatbot for the Population of Hong Kong
1 other identifier
interventional
280
1 country
2
Brief Summary
The primary objective of this study is to is to develop a conversational AI service (chatbot) in Hong Kong to assist patients and caregivers with inquires related to Hospital Authority (HA)-prescribed medications, and to evaluate its effectiveness in answering medication-related questions. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- 1.How satisfied are the patients and caregivers with this pharmacy chatbot?
- 2.How will the pharmacy chatbot impact eligible patients or caregivers on their (or the patient they are caring for) medication adherence, knowledge, and the consultation time with HA pharmacists?
- 3.The intervention group will be invited to use the AI Pharmacy Chatbot online for 7 days through WhatsApp, a commonly used social media platform in Hong Kong. They can inquire about their medications prescribed under HA and get instant, validated answers from the chatbot.
- 4.The control group will not use the chatbot during the intervention period.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Jun 2025
2 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
June 1, 2025
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
June 17, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
June 25, 2025
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
October 31, 2026
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
October 31, 2026
June 25, 2025
June 1, 2025
1.4 years
June 17, 2025
June 17, 2025
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (2)
Medical knowledge
Before the intervention period, all participants will be asked whether they disagree or agree with the following statements on a 5-point Likert scale (Strongly agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly disagree): 1. I understand the main indications of my medications (or the medications of the patient I care for). 2. I understand the potential side effects of my medications (or the medications of the patient I care for). 3. I know how to take my medications (or administer the medications of the patient I care), including the dosage and frequency, thereby promoting my medication adherence. 4. I have concerns or worries about my medications (or the medications of the patient I care for). 5. I can obtain medication-related information efficiently and easily. After the 7-day intervention period, they will be asked again the same questions.
1 week
Medical adherence
Before the intervention period, all participants will be asked whether they disagree or agree with the following statement on a 5-point Likert scale (Strongly agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly disagree): I know how to take my medications (or administer the medications of the patient I care), including the dosage and frequency, thereby promoting my medication adherence. After the 7-day intervention period, they will be asked again the same questions.
1 week
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Response time
1 week
User satisfaction
1 week
Consultation with pharmacists
1 week
Study Arms (2)
Pharmacy chatbot intervention group
EXPERIMENTALIn this arm, participants will receive a pharmacy chatbot intervention. They will be invited to use the chatbot through WhatsApp. They can ask questions regarding their (or the patient they are caring for) prescribed medications and get immediate responses from the chatbot. The intervention will last for 7 days.
Control group
NO INTERVENTIONThe control group will not have any exposure with the chatbot during the intervention period.
Interventions
It is a chatbot for HA-prescribed medication used for treating hyperglycaemia, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia, available through WhatsApp. All the responses will be extracted from a database, in which the content was obtained from and validated by pharmacists from the Chief Pharmacist's Office of the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong. The intervention period will last for 7 days.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Patients aged 18 years or older diagnosed with either hyperglycaemia, hypertension, or hyperlipidaemia, and currently receiving medication prescribed by the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong.
- Caregivers aged 18 years or older for patients described above.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- The University of Hong Konglead
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Healthcollaborator
- Hospital Authority, Hong Kongcollaborator
Study Sites (2)
Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Joseph Wu, PhD
The University of Hong Kong
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Professor
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
June 17, 2025
First Posted
June 25, 2025
Study Start
June 1, 2025
Primary Completion (Estimated)
October 31, 2026
Study Completion (Estimated)
October 31, 2026
Last Updated
June 25, 2025
Record last verified: 2025-06
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL
- Time Frame
- Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication
- Access Criteria
- Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal for meta-analysis. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.
Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in the article, after de-identification (text, tables, figures, and appendices), will be shared. A written data-sharing request for meta-analysis should be submitted by email with a methodologically sound proposal. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.