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Recent advances in automatic speech recognition and related technologies allow computers to carry on conversations by telephone. We developed an intelligent dialogue system that interacts with hypertensive patients to collect data about their health status. Patients thus avoid the inconvenience of traveling for frequent face to face visits to monitor the clinical variables they can easily measure at home; the physician is facilitated in acquiring patient information and cardiovascular risk, which is evaluated from the data according to noted guidelines. Controlled trials to assess the clinical efficacy are under way.

Recent advances in automatic speech recognition and related technologies allow computers to carry on conversations by telephone. We developed an intelligent dialog system that interacts with hypertensive patients to collect data about their health status. Patients thus avoid the inconvenience of going for frequent visits that monitor some clinical variables they can easily measure at home; the physician is facilitated in acquiring and reviewing patient information and related risk indicators, which are evaluated from the data according to noted guidelines. The system described here is a prototype of future configurable and component-based dialog systems, which may allow a new modality for users and physicians to access electronic health records.