Artificial intelligence health app taking more information than necessary: Report
A health app that allows Albertans to speak to a virtual agent about the symptoms of their potential illnesses is not fully compliant with rules set out to protect the privacy of its clients, a provincial agency has found.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) says it has come up with a list of 31 findings and 20 recommendations following an investigation into TELUS' Babylon Health app.
The mobile program was first launched in B.C. in March 2019 but came to Alberta last year.
Following a review of the app, which was launched in April 2020, the OIPC says it associates government-issued ID and selfie photos with accounts for verification purposes, collected and recorded audio and video consultations conducted through the app and had a number of issues with its privacy policy.
"Many of the findings from the (Personal Information Protection Act) investigation relate to the app’s privacy policy, which was found to be unclear, lengthy and contained inaccuracies," the province said in a release. "For example, the privacy policy did not clearly identify the purposes for which personal information is collected, and it was not clear what information was associated with each purpose. The privacy policy also referred to functionality that was not enabled or available to individuals."
The OIPC said while Babylon informed them the video recording function was disabled in June 2020, the audio recording feature is still available.
It added the issue regarding photos and the recording of consultations are "not consistent with provincial and national guidelines for providing health care."
When the app first launched, Health Minister Tyler Shandro called it timely, especially when COVID-19 rules at the time had Albertans self-isolating whenever they exhibited cold or flu-like symptoms.
"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 said at the time.
Now, the province said it will be carefully considering the OIPC reports but says TELUS has already implemented some of the recommendations on its own.
Meanwhile, TELUS is standing by its MyCare virtual care service, insisting that it "meets or exceeds all privacy requirements set out in Alberta's legislation" including the concerns outlined in the OIPC report.
"We are constantly enhancing our privacy program and we recently updated our privacy policy, internal data policies, and agreements with our physicians; and we continue to work cooperatively with the OIPC," said Dr. Keir Peterson, Chief Medical Officer, Consumer Health, TELUS, in a statement.
"Protecting our customers' privacy and safeguarding their personal information is paramount and we want to assure users of TELUS Health MyCare that their privacy is and has always been respected."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway.
BREAKING Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
Have you been removed from your family doctor’s patient list for visiting an Ontario walk-in clinic?
Some Ontarians are expressing frustration after they said that they were removed from their family doctor’s patient list for visiting a walk-in clinic in a process being called “de-rostering.”
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.