Use case 7: Case severity triage facilitator

Description:

An AI-powered triage facilitator supports care providers during client intake by determining whether a case falls within the scope of task sharing. It can analyze conversations in real time, ask the care providers questions about the client’s mental health, and then determine if the case is appropriate for task sharing or if it should be escalated to more specialized care. The tool helps standardize triage by identifying cases that require specialized care or providing tailored intervention guidance for cases that can be managed within task-sharing programs.

Example scenario:

During an intake session, the care provider meets with a new client who reports feeling stressed and tired all the time. The triage facilitator analyzes the conversation in real time, detecting answers that suggest severe depression. To guide the care provider, the tool suggests follow-up questions to clarify symptoms and assess the severity of the case.

If the client’s needs exceed the scope of task sharing, the triage facilitator classifies the case as high-risk and recommends referring the client to specialized care. It generates a structured summary with flagged keywords and a risk severity score based on clinical tools, such as a patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) that assesses the severity of a client’s depression. If the case falls within the task-sharing program’s scope, the triage facilitator provides guidance on appropriate interventions and next steps based on the program’s structure.

Opportunities unlocked:

The triage facilitator could address several challenges in mental health task sharing programs, including the following:

• High caseload. With limited staff and high referral volumes, triage can become rushed or superficial and vary in quality. The triage facilitator could streamline and standardize the process by automatically flagging high-risk cases and generating structured handover reports. The tool can ultimately help reduce administrative tasks and provide more accurate, standardized assessments of the severity of clients’ mental health..
• Appropriateness of care. Appropriate triaging could help ensure that clients get the right level of care. Clients who benefit from task-sharing programs will be assigned to those, while clients needing higher levels of support will be referred to appropriate professionals.

How could the end user(s) benefit from this solution?

The primary end user who could directly benefit from this solution is:

• Care provider. Care providers who conduct client intake and triage assessments could benefit from real-time risk assessments and structured summaries of clients’ mental health. Care providers could then ensure accurate severity evaluations and timely connections to specialized care.