Overview

Through completing an interview with Buoy's Symptom Checker API, end users are able to answer the following two questions:

What might be wrong with me? The differential
What level of care might I need? The triage

Organizations using Buoy's APIs often present both the differential and the triage recommendations to their end users at the conclusion of an interview. In addition to answering the two questions above, many organizations using Buoy's APIs help users take the right next step in care by answering an additional question
3. What can I do next? The care endpoint

For example, organizations using Buoy's Symptom Checker APIs might want to connect their users with a scheduling system in order to set up an appointment with an in-network provider. By pairing the differential and triage recommendations that Buoy makes with your care endpoints, organizations using Buoy's APIs can create an experience that takes users from symptom discovery to receiving care.

Mapping resources

Buoy provides 8 triage levels ranging from wait and watch (triage level 0) all the way up to emergency medical services (triage level 7). Organizations are encouraged to surface high quality, cost effective care to their users based on the triage levels provided to their end users. Below, we've listed several examples of triage to care endpoint mappings.

Buoy Provided Triage Level	Organization Endpoint
0 - Wait and watch	- Additional education - Local pharmacies for OTCs
1 - Self-treatment	- Additional education - Local pharmacies for OTCs
2 - Phone call or in-person visit	- Call to nurse line or provider's office - Provider finder - Scheduling systems - Virtual visit / telehealth
3 - Primary care doctor (within 2 weeks)	- Provider finder - Scheduling systems - Virtual visit / telehealth
4 - Primary care doctor (within 1-2 days)	- Provider finder - Scheduling systems - Urgent care locator
5 - In-person visit	- Provider finder - Scheduling systems - Urgent care locator
6 - Hospital emergency room	- ER finder (potentially integrated with ER wait times)
7 - Emergency medical service	- Call to 911

Displaying care endpoints to end users

Organizations consuming Buoy's APIs are able to match the triage level(s) provided in a result to their own care endpoints. For example, for triage level 5 (in-person visit), your organization may wish to display a list of the closest urgent care centers to a user. Similarly, for triage level 2 and 3, you may wish to allow the end user to navigate to a provider finder or into your own scheduling system. At this time, Buoy recommends mapping resources to the triage level; we do not support mappings at the condition level.

Buoy provides up to three condition matches, each of which may have a different triage level associated, therefore care endpoints should display in-line or next to each condition match.

Passing interview information to downstream systems

Organizations using Buoy's APIs may wish to share interview data with downstream systems, such as an EMR, data warehouse, or member/patient portal. To do so, organizations may capture requests and responses throughout the interview in order to share data with these downstream systems. For example, an organization may wish to share a list of complaints and results with an urgent care once a user has indicated that they are on their way to a particular location. Organizations sharing data with downstream systems will need to handle both user authentication and obtaining any necessary consents.