Improving health outcomes with AI-powered technology
Arthritis NSW
Improving health outcomes with AI-powered technology
Arthritis NSW
Arthritis impacts nearly four million Australians. Often called an invisible condition, the lack of awareness about arthritis can leave those living with the condition feeling unheard and misunderstood.
Making sure we solve a real problem
Arthritis NSW recognised that the lack of credible resources, and the generic ‘content clutter’ online about arthritis, was a significant problem for people who live with arthritis. It hampers their success in finding the evidence-led, up-to-date information, tools and services they need to achieve better health outcomes and improve their quality of life.
When Arthritis NSW came to Pollen with this challenge, we jumped at the opportunity to take their services to the forefront of technology innovation.
Through audience research, we identified that after being diagnosed, people often felt lost. They didn’t know where to start or what they should do. It’s a stage often referred to as the "crisis point." In particular, people didn’t know what really mattered for them in the context of the type of arthritis they’d been diagnosed with and the stage of the condition.

Redefining healthcare support with AI
It was the wealth of content produced by Arthritis NSW and their partners that sparked our inspiration. Why not use this information to deliver highly personalised and genuinely helpful support that’s relevant to each person’s unique situation?
We developed an AI-powered platform that can provide answers to the questions people ask about arthritis. Called Clara, the platform is designed to be seamlessly integrated into everyday life and used alongside existing health management plans.
Clara aims to meet people at the “crisis point” when they are first diagnosed and then adapt its support over time as health needs and circumstances change. It’s a true companion for navigating the challenges of life with arthritis.

Cutting through the generic ‘content clutter’ with personalisation
Personalisation was a must-have for Clara. Generative AI gives Clara the capability for contextual awareness, learning about each person as they use the platform. Clara is able to adapt its responses based on the user’s context and specific needs, such as type of arthritis and stage of the condition. There’s no need to use filters, edit settings or request a large amount of upfront information from the user in order to personalise content.

Augmenting Clara's responses with retrieved expert knowledge
It’s critical that Clara balances easy-to-understand, engaging responses with effective risk mitigation. Whether Clara answers people’s questions about self-management techniques or treatments, mental health or medications, the information must always be accurate and provide the right level of detail so there’s no room for misinterpretation.
To achieve this accuracy, Clara is powered by a smart retrieval system that's integrated with a frontier model LLM. The LLM dynamically accesses a curated knowledge base drawn from a vast set of resources supplied by Arthritis NSW and trusted partners. It does not rely on training data or the open internet. This approach - referencing expert, authoritative content in real time - sets Clara apart from other typical AI chat solutions.
The resources are stored in the Sanity CMS, used by the website. Sanity can easily handle the large amount of content and its impressively scalable architecture will allow Clara to effortlessly evolve and grow over time.
Improving the user experience with language and tone of voice
It’s not just the information itself, but the tone of voice and language used by an LLM that helps deliver a truly valuable experience. We’ve aimed to meet diverse needs, including those of people with low health literacy who are at higher risk of poor health outcomes. Clara’s tone of voice and conversational language have been refined as we learned from the experiences of target audiences who participated in testing.

It’s just the start of technological transformation in arthritis healthcare
Right now, Clara gives people the information and support they need - alongside their healthcare team - to make better decisions about their health. It’s just the start of a platform with a huge vision for the future.
We’ve developed a long-term product roadmap that will see the platform continue to evolve and expand its capabilities to better meet the needs of every Australian living with arthritis. As people use Clara, we’ll learn from their experiences to continuously improve the platform.
We’re thrilled to work with Arthritis NSW, using the latest technologies to make a significant impact on the lives of those with arthritis.
Clara, an AI-powered companion app... exemplifies a seamless integration of AI with extensive content.
Australian Good Design Awards Jury