Headquarters London, United Kingdom Website www.babylonhealth.com Founder Ali Parsa | Industry Health Care Current status Active Date founded 2013 | |
babylon is a subscription health service provider that enables users to have virtual consultations with doctors and health care professionals via text and video messaging through its mobile application. The service also allows users to receive drug prescriptions, referrals to health specialists, and book health exams with nearby facilities.
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The English company was founded in 2013 by Ali Parsa and was the first service of its kind to be registered with the Care Quality Commission, an independent health care services regulator and inspector in England. As of January 2016, Babylon has raised $25M in funding from its Series A round. Its investors include Hoxton Ventures, Kinnevik AB as well as the founders of Google DeepMind.
Babylon health providing virtual appointments with doctors on your mobile
Overview
Users can choose to subscribe to a monthly fee and gain unlimited virtual access to general practitioners, or opt for a pay-as-you-go model. The app enables users to confidentially send text messages, photos, and video inquiries to the company's team of health care professionals that include doctors, nurses, and therapists. The app is available for iOS and Android mobile devices.
It has been trialled in two GP practices at Eastwood Group Practices, Southend, and Highlands Surgery, Leigh-on-Sea, since March 2015. Patients can check their symptoms for a diagnosis, chat with their GP face-to-face via a video link and order prescriptions. It started a 12-month trial with the staff of Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in December 2016.
Features
Consultations
Users are able to send questions and set up consultations with Babylon's GPs. The service is meant to answer questions for common medical topics such as fever, sore throat, allergies, skin irritations, and colds. If prescriptions are required, they are mailed to the user's address, or sent to a pharmacy for pickup. Users also have the option to consult with therapists to discuss topics such as depression and anxiety. At the end of the consultations, users are able to review their experience anonymously.
Health monitor
Users can sync their activity trackers' data with the app for health monitoring. This data, which can include things such as number of calories, sleep, pulse, and stress levels, can then be used to build a health plan for the user.
Test and kits
Babylon provides a delivery service for test kits that users can request. These diagnostic kits can be used for testing things such as diabetes, cholesterol, and sugar levels. Users can send the samples back to Babylon Health, and access the results through their app.
AI
As of January 2016, Babylon is developing an A.I. feature that would pre-screen the users' health conditions.