Babylon Health Sympton Checker

Babylon Health's Diagnostic and Triage System (aka 'Sympton Checker') is a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to ask users questions about their condition in order to identify what is wrong with them and prioritise treatment.

The system was designed to provide users with advice alongside an explanation of why this action has been suggested. 

Babylon Health researchers claimed the system was capable of matching expert clinician decisions in 85 percent of cases.

Transparency and accountability 🙈

Babylon Health's corporate and product governance were singled out for being inadequate and opaque, and its marketing as misleading. 

It was accused by NHS consultants of rushing to market without adequate proof that its Sympton Checker worked, notably by testing it on real patients, and having failed to conduct any peer-reviewed, randomised control studies before launch. 

Forbes reported in 2018 that 'Interviews with current and former Babylon staff and outside doctors reveal broad concerns that the company has rushed to deploy software that has not been carefully vetted, then exaggerated its effectiveness.'

Risks and harms 🛑

Babylon's sympton checker has drawn criticism for its perceived poor quality and safety, including alleged errors in diagnosing conditions such as heart attacks.

Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️

• UK Advertising Standards Authority (2018). ASA Ruling on Babylon Healthcare Services Ltd t/a GP at hand

Research, advocacy 🧮

• Gilbert S., et al (2020). How accurate are digital symptom assessment apps for suggesting conditions and urgency advice? A clinical vignettes comparison to GPs

• Fraser H., Coeira E., Wong D. (2018). Safety of patient-facing digital symptom checkers

• Razzaki S., et al (2018). A comparative study of artificial intelligence and human doctors for the purpose of triage and diagnosis

• McCartney M. (2017). Innovation without sufficient evidence is a disservice to all

Investigations, assessments, audits 🧐

• BBC Newsnight (2020). Digital Healthcare: Is it clinically effective?

• BBC Horizon (2018). Diagnosis on Demand? The Computer Will See You Now

• BBC Radio 4 Inside Health (2017). Robo-docs, using AI to diagnose; Pancreatic cancer; Statins and muscle aches

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j3980

• https://www.ft.com/content/19dc6b7e-8529-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929

• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/its-hysteria-not-a-heart-attack-gp-app-tells-women-gm2vxbrqk

• https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/25/first-do-no-harm/

• https://www.hsj.co.uk/technology-and-innovation/regulator-reveals-concerns-over-babylons-chatbot/7029598.article

• https://www.hsj.co.uk/technology-and-innovation/safety-regulators-reviewing-concerns-about-babylons-chatbot/7022612.article

• https://inews.co.uk/news/babylon-health-doctor-app-nhs-does-it-work-266864

• https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/05/uks-mhra-says-it-has-concerns-about-babylon-health-and-flags-legal-gap-around-triage-chatbots/

• https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/28/babylon-claims-its-ai-can-diagnose-patients-better-than-doctors.html

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44635134

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6751393/NHS-backed-GP-chatbot-branded-public-health-danger.html

• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/its-hysteria-not-a-heart-attack-gp-app-tells-women-gm2vxbrqk

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2018/06/29/this-startup-wants-to-replace-your-doctor-with-a-chatbot/

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2018/12/17/this-health-startup-won-big-government-dealsbut-inside-doctors-flagged-problems