A speech-enabled portiva known as a virtual healthcare assistant can receive a patient's request by voice call or text message and provide the necessary advice in response. There are several terms used to refer to virtual healthcare assistants, including "medical chatbots," "virtual health assistants," "portiva healthcare assistants," and others. Fourthly, there are different types of virtual assistants used in healthcare, including clinical virtual assistants, personal health virtual assistants, and mental health virtual assistants.