Samsung is reportedly teaming up with Babylon to offer artificial intelligence-powered medical consultations on smartphones in the UK.
For those unfamiliar with Babylon, it's an ambitious startup best known for its "GP at Hand" collaboration with the NHS in the UK, which allows people to easily schedule medical consultations through video chat.
AI-Powered Medical Consultations
The startup is now taking things to the next level with its new partnership with Samsung, reportedly pre-loading its AI-powered technology on Samsung devices so that more people can set up video medical consultations with a doctor. Customers will also be able to use the Health app to check their symptoms.
In the digital era, marrying healthcare with mobile is an increasingly hot topic. Health apps and devices are constantly gaining ground and Apple even made efforts to bring digital health records to iPhones to make things easier and more convenient for people.
Medical Consults On Samsung Phones
As the Financial Times reports (paywall), cited by Engadget, Babylon's new partnership with Samsung should further boost its position on the private medical care market. While not specified, this indicates that the AI-powered technology might allow Samsung users to book video consultations with private medical professionals.
However, as one might imagine, this will be a paid service. According to FT, interested customers will be able to pay £50 for a whole year of service, which would translate to roughly $67, or shell out £25 for each appointment, which would be about $33. In this case, the annual subscription would obviously be more advantageous, but it remains unclear whether there's a limit of appointments or benefits one could receive.
Samsung Babylon Deal
As part of this arrangement, Babylon will reportedly get license fees from Samsung, as well as part of the revenues the South Korean company earns. It seems that the initial plan is to offer the benefits of this collaboration only on Samsung smartphones in the UK, but Babylon reportedly plans to conquer more global markets and make the same perks available worldwide.
If everything goes right and the initiative is met with enthusiasm, it could soon become available in more markets. For the time being, neither Babylon nor Samsung have confirmed the deal, anyway, so it's best to take this report with a grain of salt until it becomes official.
If Samsung and Babylon Health do, indeed, plan to offer such services, would you be interested? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
