Designing an AI-Powered Healthcare Chatbot for Patient Interaction at Karat District Hospital

Access to timely healthcare information remains a significant challenge in many rural areas of Ethiopia, including the Konso
District. This research presents the development of a lightweight, web-based chatbot designed to assist patients by providing
real-time responses to general health-related queries. The system is developed using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and
integrates the Google Gemini API to enable intelligent, natural language interaction.
The chatbot aims to reduce the burden on medical staff at Karat District Hospital by handling frequent, non-emergency
inquiries and supporting basic health education. It is designed to be mobile-friendly, accessible with minimal internet
connectivity, and easy to use even for individuals with limited digital literacy. Test scenarios were created using realistic
patient queries related to local health issues such as malaria, maternal care, and vaccination. Although the current
implementation supports only English, the system is built with scalability in mind, including future enhancements such as
support for local languages (Amharic and Afa Konso), voice input, and integration with hospital services. This solution
represents a step toward bridging healthcare access gaps in rural communities using AI and web technologies.