Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
The chatbot doctor will see you now
Hospitals turn to artificial intelligence
AN NHS trust hopes to carry out half its hospital appointments using artificial intelligence instead of doctors.
Every resident of Wolverhampton will be given access to an app allowing them to book “remote” hospital appointments.
AI is used as a replacement for GPS in parts of the UK but has not been used by hospitals.
Royal Wolverhampton hospitals will let patients Skype medics or receive a diagnosis via a “chatbot”.
The NHS trust has signed a deal with tech firm Babylon Health to offer the virtual GP programme, used by the
NHS, across all its services.
Trust chief executive David Loughton said the app’s AI triage service is as good as seeing a doctor. It can make initial diagnoses and filter patients who need further tests from those who can manage with online help. He added: “I think 50% of consultations could be done remotely. A lot of this is chronic conditions because we know about how to manage those.” Under the 10-year deal, NHS workers will get access to Babylon’s technology and clinical staff. It sets out plans to offer patients digital health assessments, carried out by chatbots. Chronic cases could be monitored at patients’ homes with results sent to their app and specialists alerted when needed.
The trust hopes to sell the technology to the rest of the NHS. Health secretary Matt Hancock has called Babylon “revolutionary” and uses its NHS GP at Hand app but doctors say it is mainly used by fit young people, leaving more complex, costlier cases to surgeries.