Amazon’s Alexa is set to answer people’s health queries by searching the official NHS website – and sharing the most relevant advice.
Until now, people asking Alexa a health question would be given an answer based on a variety of popular responses online. But a new partnership with the NHS means Alexa will now give answers based on information from the health service website, which has been verified by health professionals.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said he hopes the move will “empower every patient to take better control of their healthcare”, while privacy campaigners Big Brother Watch have called it a “data protection disaster waiting to happen”. But what do doctors think?
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the move has the potential to help some patients work out what kind of care they need for minor ailments, relieving pressure on overstretched GP services.
“However, it is vital that independent research is done to ensure that the advice given is safe, otherwise it could prevent people seeking proper medical help and create even more pressure on our overstretched GP service,” she said in a statement.
Stokes-Lampard also urged policymakers to be cautious, saying while technology can help some, “we must be careful not to create a ‘digital divide’ between those patients who can afford it and are able to use it, and those who can’t.”
“Patients who are frail often have more complex healthcare needs so it is important that they do not rely on this as their sole source of health advice, but seek the help of a healthcare professional such as a local pharmacist who can give further guidance on whether they need the expert care of a GP for more serious or ongoing symptoms,” she said.
Dr Roger Henderson, GP and UK medical director of Liva Healthcare, echoed some of these concerns. “It is alarming to think that patients could be solely relying on a device to receive healthcare information,” he told HuffPost UK adding that it was “unfit for purpose” for patients making a treatment plan.
“This is particularly true for the treatment of chronic diseases, which require patients to make lifestyle changes,” Henderson said. “From previous medical studies, it has been proven that the most important driver in long-term lifestyle changes is a strong and personal relationship based on trust with a GP.”
Dr Clare Morrison, GP and medical advisor at Medexpress, called the move an “innovative idea”, but said she was “unsure as to whether it can stand the test of time or completely relieve GP services”.
“Though using an Alexa to offer high-quality advice pulled from the NHS website is clever and may quicken the process, it can never replace the importance of a face-to-face consultation,” she said, adding that it may isolate the older generation who are not digital natives.
She also worried that it might leave patients feeling as though they couldn’t ring up to book an appointment. “If the device reassures them they don’t need further assistance, but they would like a second (human) opinion, then they should be able to book to see their GP,” she stressed.