Following several complaints from doctors, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reviewed the Babylon Health app which powers the NHS GP-at-hand service, according to a report in the Financial Times.
According to the paper, the MHRA asked questions about the app after one doctor complained that it had failed to identify symptoms of a heart attack or deep vein thrombosis. Two other doctors told the paper that they had complained about wording on the website that could confuse patients. The wording has since been changed. The Advertising Standards Authority has also received five complaints about the app.
Although it is not under formal investigation, Babylon confirmed that it had received and responded to questions from the MHRA. The regulator, in contrast, said it could not comment on specific cases but added that it “regularly carries out post-market surveillance and maintains dialogue with manufacturers”.
The Financial Times tested the apps symptom checker as a 66-year-old obese male smoker was experiencing sudden chest pain and excessive sweating – a case similar to that at the centre of the aforementioned complaint. It reports that the app suggested that nine out of 10 people with similar symptoms were likely to be having a panic attack and made no mention of the risk of a heart attack.
Babylon said: “Variable outcomes are still possible if a different symptom is selected, as each symptom could suggest an increase or decrease in the probability of a larger number of potential diseases.” It added that the complaints about the chest pain case had been made by an individual with “potentially vested interests”.
