Just in time for the run-up to Halloween, we learn that Babylon the Great is fallen.
I speak, of course, of Babylon Health, creator of the Babylon app with which our Alberta United Conservative Party – always credulous when it comes to scams and quackery that promise to pave the way for privatization of health care – was so entranced in the spring of 2020.
Perhaps you missed it – I did until I noticed an interesting Tweet thread on the topic on Thanksgiving Day – but early last month the London-based tele-health company founded in 2013 by British-Iranian ex banker Ali Parsa was put in to bankruptcy administration in the U.K.
In mid-August, the company filed for bankruptcy at two subsidiaries in the United States. The same month, it announced it was “winding down” its operations in Rwanda – once featured in every stock tout’s sales pitch about its reach and scope along with the investment in the company by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund – potentially depriving 2.8 million people of care.
Said to be worth about $4 billion US when it went public in 2021, Babylon Health is presumably now worth nothing more than what its constituent parts can fetch to pay off its creditors.
It turns out that its founders and bosses wildly exaggerated the capabilities of its its chatbot program, which was described as using Artificial Intelligence, raising the hope here in Wild Rose Country that it could all but make family physicians obsolete.
Alert readers will recall that in 2020, premier Jason Kenney’s minister of health, Tyler Shardro, was engaged in an effort to cut physicians’ incomes that came to be known as the UCP’s “War on Doctors,” from which Alberta is yet to recover.
That – and presumably an effective mid-pandemic sales pitch from Vancouver-based Telus Corp.’s communications subsidiary, which in 2019 had inked a $70-million deal to use Babylon’s technology – seems to be what made Mr. Shandro’s eyes twinkle.
Who can forget the UCP Government’s gee-whiz news release on March 19, 2020, headlined, “New app helps Albertans access health care … Albertans can now meet with Alberta-licensed physicians through their smartphone, thanks to an initiative by TELUS Health.” (Telus prefers to shout its name; I don’t.)
“This app is now available and ready for use in Alberta thanks to an alternative relationship plan, and it comes at a time when our health system is actively asking people to self-isolate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the presser quoted Mr. Shandro proclaiming.
“Using this app is an alternative to visiting physicians face-to-face when you’re not sure if your symptoms are related to the novel coronavirus or at any other time,” he went on, not shy about taking advantage of a bad situation to advance the UCP’s agenda.
Mr. Shandro also shamelessly hyped the Babylon app on Twitter, the social media platform subsequently known as X.
In the same news release, Telus president and CEO Darren Entwistle was quoted saying the company was “committed to driving improved health outcomes for Albertans by bringing our Babylon by TELUS Health virtual care service to communities and families across the entire province.
“In partnership with the Government of Alberta, our virtual health-care service bridges time and distance for Albertans in need of expeditiously accessing a physician at no cost from the comfort of home, while simultaneously keeping our amazing health-care professionals protected,” he continued.
A spokesperson for Telus Health told AlbertaPolitics.ca soon after that the company was “actively looking for ways to integrate Babylon’s virtual care technology into the primary care ecosystem.”
This was not received well by many of the province’s doctors – especially when it got around that Alberta Health would be paying Telus $38 per tele-visit under that “alternative relationship plan” while family doctors who could actually see your charts and knew your history were restricted to $20 per call, out of which they had to pay the costs of running their practice.
Several were quoted by the CBC the day after the government news release was published.
“I am very upset as a physician in practice for over 20 years that the government is promoting and funding a service for my patients to call an unknown physician, with no access to my patients’ charts, when I am available for the same service,” wrote one, Edmonton general practitioner Dr. Alice Bedard.
Eventually, the Kenney Government caved and agreed to pay Alberta docs the same $38 rate for virtual visits.
Physicians also raised earlier criticisms of the Babylon app, which in light of recent events seem prescient.
For example, an article in Wired Magazine in March 2019 criticized Babylon Health’s U.K. operation for cherry picking “easy, low-maintenance patients” in a system that pays General Practitioners a set amount for patients regardless of the complexity of their needs. It dumped the harder cases on Emergency Departments.
According to Forbes Magazine in 2018, “the bot’s advice was often wrong.” When Babylon boasted that its AI program could diagnose conditions better than a living, breathing doctor, it earned a sharp rebuke from Britain’s Royal College of General Practitioners, which turned out to be right.
In 2021, two reports by Alberta’s privacy commissioner found Telus had ignored Alberta’s privacy laws when it launched Babylon. Journalist Charles Rusnell reported that the company collected more information than necessary from patients, including their photos, and used facial recognition technology without notifying patients.
At some point, Telus stopped using the Babylon brand. This was probably a sound decision from a marketing perspective, given its ancient namesake’s bad reputation thanks to the Bible’s Book of Revelation.
At any rate, it looks as if the company that once described its ambition as “to put an accessible and affordable health service in the hands of every person on Earth” will soon go the way of that other Babylon.
What impact this will have on Telus’s bottom line and the operations of Telus Health, if any, remains to be seen. It’s unlikely ever to be mentioned again by anyone associated with the UCP.
Let’s hope Telus goes zero for two.
Telus also owns Lifeworks, formerly known as Morneau Shepell, currently known for their Alberta Pension report
Hello PJP,
Thanks for the information. “Curiouser and curiouser,” As Alice in Woderland would have said.
Hello David,
Thanks for bringing this to readers’ attention. I am not sorry that this sub-par self-styled medical service has failed. The negative aspects of Babylon that you provided should have been obvious to whoever in the the UCP, and at Telus for that matter, pushed it on the public. I was particularly irked at the sneaky way that doctors on the service were paid almost twice as much as our hard-working doctors who see patients every day. (I would like to mention that I have no affiliation with the medical profession except as an ordinary patient.) It is my impression that there was no guarantee that people were communicating with a doctor located in Alberta either. Like you, I was surprised by the name, considering its biblical significance.
First of all an observation—during the lockdown *I was able to talk (by appt)to my family Dr via the phone, discuss my case, and I did NOT need to get an app; especially to ” talk” to some AI creature. If I wanted that kind of information, I could just as easily have googled ‘Ask a doctor’, for free–internet service not -withstanding .
(*BC )
Secondly, how much personal/sensitive information does Babylon/ Telus Health have on this “app” , and what are they going to do with it ??
and lastly, with this track record, are there actually any people who still think that Telus Health is an (great/good/feasible/credible) option in being responsible for the proposed APP ??
IMPO, I would not have any confidence in anything Mr Shandro was endorsing (what ever did happen with his integrity (?)cases …..
This sounds like just another of those Mash&Grab, take the money and run schemes and with morals seemingly going/gone by the wayside these days, we have become the victims of hackers and highjackers of our money with no bottom line including your health. Business is only responsible to the shareholders, the capitalist motto…. people are replaceable don’ cha know?
In my solitude? Thanks to Duke! Nah! This is for all my friends! https://youtu.be/qK0HcJ2U7NI
The UCP keeps on doing one major fiasco, right after another. It never ends.
Again the UCP falls for another quick fix snake oil scheme that falls apart, rather than negotiating properly and believing in seasoned professionals. Tyler Shandro never struck me as being the sharpest knife in the drawer. For that matter most of the UCP MLA’s do not give me the impression they have any sort of clue of what they are doing, other than listening to radical nut cases.
Keen observations. Too bad it’s just us ol’ farts who seem to see the truth of it all.
The sooner Telus goes outta business the better.
I’m sorry to campaign for the end of good jobs held by some good people but Telus is a parasite. It is the very worst of corporate Canada. It provides minimal and very poor service for a whopping fee to citizens.
Pull the plug on this very bad operator.
I understand your sentiment and I believe Babylon was just a Saudi front, but I love me some sweet sweet fiber. (homer-drooling.jpg)
Parasite is a nice word to describe this company. I am right now in the middle of another service discussion disgrace. I am reluctant to call it a service call because the only service is me waiting for 1 hour to talk to someone who lives somewhere on the planet but not in Alberta. After telling me that she had found the problem with my bill and everything was back to normal, she very kindly proposes a new service for only 60 dollars a month. I did not accept it but she sent it to me anyway and they charged me 60 dollars on top of the initial problem that was not resolved. You know she just wanted to catch me online for one more service, she has never seen or tried but supposedly an amazing product.
I agree with you. Also if Telus is charging us in Canadian dollars and at Canadian rates, then their services should be in Canada and by Canadians. I am really sick and tired of having to be on the phone talking to people that all they want is to shove some new crappy offer down our throats. India has made more money by robbing Canadians especially seniors than what they make in manufacturing exports.
Modi, their prime minister has cancelled many visitor visas to Canadians and our answer has been the usual ‘we are a nice country’.
It is time that Canadian politicians do what they need to do. Shut down immigration from India. I am sure they will feel it. According to them we are supporting terrorism so they should not be sending people to a disgusting country like ours. This would also fix the problem with corporate Canada that want everything for free. You want workers? Well paid them what they deserve. You want trained people, well train them.
This is the result when Albertans elect know-it-alls with Sam Slick sales pitches. Ego-driven decisions don’t serve the public good.
Now what was that about Telus using its Lifeworks arm to pitch an Alberta Pension Plan, from which it could profit? I smell another rat.
Perhaps AI can make the TBA/UCP and neoliberalism obsolete.
Pointed Sticks– I’m not too sure that AI hasn’t already been used, after all Dani has been very keen on promoting Artificial Intelligence……but I just wish that someone would take Pepe in for a reprogramming, back in the day, by now someone in the crowd would have gone over and given the cabinet a kick, to get that needle going so it would stop skipping; but then I suppose that’s how he got the name. If I was really bored/demented, I could hire myself out to the party — I know all the hits by heart and now finally after 19 yrs of PP he can actually speak the truth something….yes it is now officially 8yrs of PMJT.
POGO– No,No,No……
if you want to talk turkey, I would recommend Dr Steve @the tyee….common sense y’a know !!
Mike– I’m pretty sure we’re way beyond 3 for 3…. don’t forget the cough syrup fiasco from the land of Oz, by way of Turkey …..all the new health care workers that were going to fix the shortage which as of yesterday’s X(Twitter)/link- city news Calgary_
is now down to 70 coming in a “few months “…..and we/I haven’t heard anything new about all those drug rehab places that were supposedly being built; Marshall Smith has been pretty quiet of late, what ?
Then there was the ___ and the ____ and let’s not forget about the ____.If you look back over the last year, its almost impressively scary.
And with the restricted FOIP
does anyone actually know how many advisors she has on the taxpayers payroll.?
Some of the hype around things like this reminds me of the old snake oil medicine salesmen. I’m not sure if these modern day versions are trying to pull the wool over our eyes, our government or maybe both. No doubt, gullible governments are an easy source of cash for companies like these. Probably the farther away the better, to avoid much scrutiny. Hence a UK company selling to a western North America government.
However, for anyone who could think critically, the first sign of a problem here was paying Telus/Babylon a higher rate than actual doctors. So, how this could save government’s money was doubtful from the start. Of course, understandably it did upset doctors who were being paid less and led them to demand to be paid comparably. I expect in the end there were no cost savings from this product and even the UCP realized this eventually.
However, I’m not sure what led the UCP to ever be an enthusiastic proponent of Telus/Babylon. I’d like to think even they are not so dumb, but perhaps they are and fell for the hype of an impressive sales pitch. There is nothing I am aware of that indicates kick backs or improper payments to push this questionable product, but one wonders who in their right mind would have been so enthusiastic about it.
But perhaps this is all academic at this point with the company going into bankruptcy protection. Except knowing more about why the UCP fell for this, might be beneficial to help avoid other dubious or shady products in the future.
I waited from March 4 to October 11 for Telus to cleanup the mess they made when they screwed up the installation of my alarm system and then mistakenly charged me over $2000 from my credit card I only just got all of my money back Would I recommend any Telus service?
What’s with Tyler Shandro wearing blue scrubs instead of a shirt. Is he trying to play doctor or something?
Tom: That was taken at a news conference called during the pandemic to reassure Albertans that we had plenty of PPE supplies, thanks to the size and purchasing power of Alberta Health Services. I guess the point was reinforced by the fact they even had a paper gown to waste on Mr. Shandro. DJC
Hello Abs
This is a good comparison with Sam Slick. We have visited Haliburton House in Windsor Nova Scotia, the home of Thomas Chandler Haliburton who was also a judge. The Sam slick sketches were later published as The Clockmaker. Windsor Nova Scotia is about halfway between Halifax and Wolfville which is the home of Acadia University. Apparently, Haliburton mentioned “hurley” played on Long Pond in Windsor, which is believed by many to be the origin of Canadian ice hockey, although similar games have been played through the ages. More organized hockey with more formal written rules later developed in Montreal.
I believe that’s the house with cat holes in the doors.
There is nothing else that gives more comedy than the political career of Tyler Shandro. Even in the aftermath of his debacle in public office, his weird behaviour and endorsements are keeping the chuckles going.
Babylon Health has decided to push-up the daisies and is no more. It was this, as well as the fallout from various missteps and assorted crazy from Shandro, that lead to the screaming in the driveway incident, again c/o Tyler Shandro. If there was anyone who could keep everyone inadvertently entertained and confused, it was Shandro’s best gig yet.
Instead of pleading his case before the Alberta Law Society, the guy should consider a career in comedy. I mean his whole situation reads like an episode of Arrested Development.
The UCP are a perfect example of the saying: if you don’t stand for something, you fall for everything. It is just a matter of time before either Trudeau or Notley will be blamed for this.
I’ve been lucky; my family has had an excellent GP for at least 30 years. He’s well into retirement age, and I wonder who’ll take over his practice when he finally hangs up his stethoscope.
I know a few people who’ve had serious trouble finding a family doctor. They worry about it—a lot. Between walk-in clinics and the AHS 811 Health Link service, I suppose most folks can get by. The last, the very LAST, thing I’d recommend is Telus Health, or Babylon, or whatever it was called before it went under. Obviously, A doctor is better than NO doctor—but talking face-to-face is way better than trying to guess what’s wrong over the phone. Even if patient and doctor have to wear masks.
I’ve also met a couple of people who go absolutely gaga over anything labeled “high tech.” If it’s got a remote control, USB port or an internet connection (bonus points if it’s labeled “Smart”), they’re all for it. That might explain a part of the UCP fascination with Telus Health/Babylon Health; it’s an “app.”
The big reason for the UCP stamp of approval is, I suspect, more financial than technophilic. Any doctor employed by Telus Health was one NOT employed by the Guv’mint of Oilberduh. The anti-government government of Jason Kenney—now badly shaken, stirred, mixed up and rattled by Danielle Smith—would rather pay for services contracted out than have the wage bill come directly out of government coffers. (You’d think it was coming out of Kenney et al’s wallets directly. Jeez.)
Miz Smith is the same kind of small-government, austerity-except-during-election-campaigns Republican clone as Kenney was. She must be disappointed by the failure of yet another for-profit medical scam. The DynaLife takeover in southern Alberta was first; now Babylon Health. (Unless Telus Health manages to buy Babylon at fire-sale prices? I dunno.) But what’s gonna go next? Anyone care to guess what’ll be three for three?
Counting UCP fiascos is becoming just about as difficult as count Trump’s lies.