AI-powered chatbot app can give you medical advice

In order to reduce the burden on its 111 non-emergency help line, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is trialing a chatbot app for giving medical advice. Since the 111 service went live in 2013, it’s been serving as the first port of call for urgent advice in cases where it’s likely overkill to want an ambulance right away, such as if you’ve misread a prescription or have taken an extra pill. The new AI-powered app could become another alternative, questioning users about their medical symptoms before suggesting the best course of action.

The NHS is developing the app with Babylon Health, a paid doctor-on-demand service. Modeled off of Babylon's existing mobile app, it features a chatbot-like symptom questionnaire that users interact with before being connected with a general practitioner via video call. The app isn't being designed to replace the 111 helpline — call handlers have the added abilities of booking out-of-hours doctor appointments and dispatching ambulances — but to dispense advice just the same. 

Image source: Chatbot.

The six-month trial will begin at the end of January and will first be open to more than a million people in the North London area. Whether it becomes a nationwide service will depend on engagement figures, user experience, and its impact on general practitioner and hospital accident and emergency visits.

Understandably, trusting a chatbot with your well-being may seem like a dangerous prospect, but Babylon claims that its “AI technology can process billions of symptom combinations much faster and more accurately than the human brain.” It should also be known that most 111 workers aren't medical professionals and simply take callers through a pathway of questioning that ends in semi-scripted advice.

Just because 111 lets you speak to an actual human doesn't necessarily make it more reliable. According to The Telegraph , the 111 service has drawn serious criticism for letting calls go unanswered, failing to identify serious conditions, offering inappropriate advice, and contributing to an increase in accident and emergency admissions.

Once open to the public, more than one million people will be given access to use the free app for their medical matters.