‘Where can I get some Viagra to help with my nosebleed?’ Doctor highlights the flaws of a health app after chatbot diagnosed him with erectile dysfunction because of a bloody nose
- Twitter user @DrMurphy11 says the Babylon Health app is ‘flawed’
- Dr Murphy answered ‘I don’t know’ to a question about erection problems
- The app also failed to pick up on symptoms of a heart attack, Dr Murphy claims
An NHS consultant has been left baffled after a symptom-checking mobile app diagnosed him with erectile dysfunction because of a nosebleed.
The doctor, known only as Dr Murphy, shared a video of his experience with the Babylon Health app, which its creators claim performs better than a medic.
On Twitter as @DrMurphy11 and calling himself an NHS consultant, he tested the app by pretending to have a nosebleed with no other symptoms.
He admitted to a reduced desire for sex but answered ‘I don’t know’ to whether he has had erection problems – and the app concluded erectile dysfunction was the most likely cause of his symptoms.
Dr Murphy has made other videos pointing out unusual diagnoses by the app, including one in which it failed to recognise heart attack symptoms.
The medic tweets regularly, pointing out the flaws of the app, which he calls ‘flawed’, ‘unvalidated’ and an ‘unnecessary risk to patient safety’.
Dr Murphy, who claims to be an NHS consultant, posted a video showing the Babylon Health app diagnosing him with erectile dysfunction because of a nosebleed
Dr Murphy posted the video following their progress through the app’s diagnostic process on Twitter on Tuesday this week.
The two-minute clip follows him through a series of more than 20 questions about his symptoms before offering its diagnosis.
Dr Murphy wrote: ‘I hadn’t considered the connection; but does anyone happen to know where I can get some #Viagra to help with my #NoseBleed…’
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After originally saying he is suffering a nosebleed, Dr Murphy answers ‘No’ to most of the follow-up questions.
‘People with these symptoms may have erectile dysfunction’
He says he does not have any other nose problems or face pain, no breathing difficulties, no temperature, no throat, voice or swallowing problems.
Dr Murphy admits to smoking and drinking alcohol but says he does not have a cough, asthma, headache or chest pain, nor any swelling in the legs.
When the app returns its verdict it says: ‘Four out of 10 people with these symptoms are likely to have this condition (an inability to achieve or maintain an erection) This usually requires seeing a GP.’
Erectile dysfunction, or impotence, is a condition in which a man cannot keep an erection during sex, and is often caused by stress, tiredness or alcohol.
But it may also be a symptom of a more serious illness like heart disease or diabetes.
Creators claim the app performs better than trainee GPs
In a presentation in June, Bablyon claimed the app scored 81 per cent in the diagnosis section of a rigorous test for trainee GPs which they have to pass to qualify.
This was significantly higher than the 72 per cent average score of trainee GPs, the company said.
App fails to recognise possible heart attack
Other videos by Dr Murphy have provoked a stronger reaction – particularly when he pretended to be a 67-year-old obese, smoking man with constant chest pain, and it did not suggest he was having a heart attack, but a panic attack.
In response to this Dr Murphy said the app needs to exclude a heart attack in these circumstances, and that the technology is ‘An unnecessary risk to patient safety.’
Dr Murphy called the app ‘an unnecessary risk to patient safety’ after it did not rule out a heart attack when the Twitter user thought it should have done
He also tweeted: ‘The public remain at risk of harm from this flawed unvalidated medical device.’
In another video the consultant seeks help for pain urinating and is told he may have prostate cancer.
The symptoms he gives are those of a urinary tract infection (UTI) – regular, urgent urinating, getting up in the night to use the toilet, and difficulty controlling urination.
He said: ‘I thought it might be a simple UTI. But the @babylonhealth #AI #Chatbot has now got me a lot more worried…’
HOW BABYLON HEALTH WORKS
Patients download the Babylon Health app and provide their name and a password.
They are first asked their date of birth – only over 16s can use the app as it has not been rigorously tested on children.
Patients are then asked to ‘briefly describe the symptom that’s worrying you most’.
If they reply a headache, for example, they will be asked up to 30 other questions.
They will be asked where in the head they feel the pain, how long they have had it and whether it came on suddenly.
Other questions include whether patients have any other symptoms such as dizziness, flashing lights in their eyes or sickness.
They will also be asked if they have lost or gained weight (weight loss can be a sign of cancer) and if they are more stressed.
At the end of the questions, patients will be told the most likely cause of their symptoms and the action they should take.
An example message reads: ‘People with symptoms similar to yours usually have the following conditions: tension headache.
‘This can usually be treated by a pharmacist’.
They will also be given a second possible cause, which in this example would be a cluster headache.
The message reads: ‘Another possible cause of these symptoms is Cluster headache (attacks of severe, one-sided headaches which occur in clusters).
‘This usually requires seeing a GP’.
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