Cera, a U.K. healthcare technology company, is set to begin testing a voice assistant at several hospitals in England and Scotland to help patients get care at home and avoid hospitalizations.

The application automatically calls patients at home through a virtual assistant that will ask a series of medical questions to monitor their health. Answers are then analyzed using artificial intelligence to identify significant changes, monitor and prevent health deteriorations, and send alerts to caregivers to arrange doctor visits if necessary

The application will initially focus on identifying symptoms of flu and COVID-19 and monitoring the health of patients with some chronic conditions.

Dr Ben Maruthappu, CEO and co-founder of Cera, calls the voice assistant "the innovative next step in our journey to becoming the leader in digital-first healthcare at home," noting that an automated phone call could save a call to emergency services.