Google Search has been enlisted in the fight against the flu virus. It’s a good data aggregator of flu-related searches worldwide. But there is more that can be done in the field…
In India, an IVR system has been implemented for people to call to find out more about the H1N1 swine flu and how to get help. There’s also SMS service to obtain similar information.
In Canada, Alonquin College is using an outbound system to poll students for flu symptoms. The school hopes to get more accurate and up-to-date data by implementing this IVR application.
The IVR is a great tool to utilize in the case of a health care scenario like a flu pandemic where people are asked to stay indoors and stay isolated. Unlike other natural disaster scenarios where the telecom infrastructure is often damaged, the IVR will serve well in a flu pandemic by providing a simple and cost effective way to gather data and offer information to the masses.
Eugene
