Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: A Systematic Review of Virtual Healthcare Assistants

• Published in: Asian Journal of Probability and Statistics Vol. 27; no. 7; pp. 43 - 62
• Main Authors: Tetteh, Samuel Gbli, Azupwah, Lois, Agyeman, Atta Yaw, Adjei, Stephen Kwasi, Twumasi, Ankrah Prince, Mohammed-Nurudeen, Sofo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 28.06.2025
• Subjects: Mathematics
• ISSN: 2582-0230; 2582-0230
• DOI: 10.9734/ajpas/2025/v27i7776

This review presents a comprehensive and current overview of the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare, with a particular focus on virtual health assistants (VHAs). As healthcare systems grow increasingly complex, AI offers transformative potential in enhancing service delivery, improving patient outcomes, and promoting health system efficiency. The integration of VHAs, AI-powered tools such as chatbots and conversational agents, has emerged as a promising solution for providing accessible, real-time, and user-friendly healthcare support. These tools have been widely adopted in sectors like banking and retail, and their application in health contexts is rapidly gaining relevance, particularly in areas such as fitness, mental health, chronic disease management, and patient-provider communication. A systematic electronic search across five major databases was conducted using relevant keywords and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to identify studies on the usability, effectiveness, and acceptability of VHAs in healthcare. The increasing use of mobile devices and the demand for personalised digital health tools further underscore the relevance of VHAs in meeting the evolving health needs and behaviors of diverse populations. This review also highlights a critical gap in adolescent health communication, particularly regarding sexual risk behaviors, and explores the potential of micro-counselling interventions delivered via AI systems to address this need.