‘Despite strides toward gender equality in healthcare, obstacles persist’ – EBO CEO Gege Gatt

EBO.ai Founder and CEO Gege Gatt has highlighted that despite there being great strides towards gender equality in healthcare, there are still a number of obstacles that are limiting women’s ability to access quality care.

His comments came as EBO, a leading AI solutions supplier for the UK healthcare market, launched its new Digital Women’s Health Hub, an innovative AI-powered platform that aims to address the distinct healthcare challenges encountered by women in the UK.

This platform consists of an intelligent AI Virtual Assistant, surfaced on NHS Trust’s website to engage with female patients through two-way humanlike dialogue while aiming to deliver information accurately, consistently, and with empathy.

Discussing this, Dr Gatt remarked: “Despite strides toward gender equality in healthcare, numerous obstacles persist, impacting women’s access to quality care, reproductive health services, and overall well-being.”

He added that this reality was confirmed by UK Government’s recently published Women’s Healthcare Strategy, which acknowledged the need for the development of a system that is “more responsive to women’s unique health requirements,” including pregnancy loss, endometriosis, and menopause.

“This is exactly what we are proposing with our new Digital Women’s Health Hub, a direct response to UK Government’s strategy,” he affirmed.

A recent public survey by UK Government, as part of a Women’s Health Strategy, found that 51 per cent of females face obstacles in accessing healthcare, 84 per cent feel that they are not listened to by healthcare professionals, particularly on queries related to gynaecological symptoms, whilst only eight per cent feel they have access to enough information on gynaecological conditions.

Additionally, UK findings also show that there is a 20-year life expectancy gap between women living in deprived areas and those living in wealthier parts of the UK. Furthermore, 71 per cent of patients refer to online search engines, such as Google, for health information rather than the NHS website or doctors.

Dr Gatt said that EBO is “committed to fostering a healthcare system that is available and accessible to all.” He commented that EBO’s approach revolves around facilitating “effective and accurate patient-provider communication,” thus seeking to ensure that patients are well informed, listened to, and cared for, regardless of their background, location, or digital literacy level.

Through advanced Natural Language Processing and machine learning algorithms, the platform efficiently addresses patient enquiries on a 24/7 basis, offering clear directions and resources. Digital Women’s Health Hub then gathers patient feedback, automates assessments, and responds to questions related to availability of community service providers, specific services, medical procedures, and the hospital’s approach to care delivery.

“EBO is setting new standards for what is achievable with healthcare technology,” Dr Gatt noted.

He added the new platform does not place “accessibility, education, and inclusivity at the heart of its solution,” but it also advances high-quality digital healthcare experiences “at any time, across all devices, and in over 100 languages.”

“Effectively, our solution ensures that no woman is left behind,” Dr Gatt concluded.