Babylon Health’s GP at Hand app has been accused of putting patients at risk, according to an article in the Sunday Times, after it emerged that if a woman entered identical heart attack symptoms to a man, the woman would be given a different diagnosis.
The GP at Hand app uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify health problems, but an investigation by doctors found that the algorithm tells a 60-year-old female smoker who reports sudden onset chest pain and nausea that she is probably having a panic attack or pain caused by inflammation. A 60-year-old male smoker inputting the same symptoms is told that he may be having a heart attack. The man is advised to go to A&E, while the woman is told to contact her GP within six hours if the symptoms persist.
A British Heart Foundation report in September found that women having a heart attack are 50% more likely than men to receive a wrong initial diagnosis.
Full story in The Sunday Times, 13 October 2019
