Babylon, a UK start-up, plans to “put an accessible and affordable health service in the hands of every person on earth” by putting artificial intelligence (AI) tools to work. Currently, the company has operations in the UK and Rwanda and hopes to expand to the Middle East, the United States, and China. The company’s strategy is to combine the power of AI with the medical expertise of humans to deliver unparalleled access to healthcare.
Services Babylon Offers
Babylon’s engineers, doctors, and scientists developed an AI system that can receive data about the symptoms someone is suffering from, compare the information to a database of known conditions and illnesses to find possible matches, and then identify a course of action and related risk factors. People can use the “Ask Babylon” feature to inquire about their medical concerns to get an initial understanding of what they might be dealing with, but this service is not intended to replace the expertise of a doctor or be used in a medical emergency.
In pursuit of its mission, Babylon offers a “talk to a doctor” service via its app, GP at Hand that provides 24/7 access to healthcare professionals through video or audio conferencing. The app can be downloaded from Google Play or the App Store. At the consultation, doctors can give medical advice, answer questions, discuss treatment, and can order prescriptions that can be delivered to a patient’s door. All of the patient’s clinical records are stored in a secure environment, and their health history can be accessed and referenced when it’s needed. If a patient needs to revisit their appointment, they can review the medical notes and replay a recording of the appointment at any time.
Another feature that is available on the app is Healthcheck. Built with the support of doctors, scientists and disease experts, this AI tool can take answers from questions about family history and a person’s lifestyle and compare it to the medical database to then create a health report and insights to help someone stay healthy.
Image Credit: Alias Studio/ Amanda Scott
Thanks to Heinz V. Hoenen. Follow him on twitter: @HeinzVHoenen
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