On Tuesday morning, Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner Jill Clayton launched two investigations into the Babylon by Telus Health virtual healthcare app.
The investigations were opened after concerns were identified in separate privacy impact assessments (PIAs) that a Calgary-based physician and Babylon Health Canada Ltd. had submitted on the app.
“No one is required to use Babylon by Telus Health. I encourage physicians or patients with concerns about this app to remain opted out of using it while my office reviews the app’s compliance with Alberta’s privacy laws,” said Clayton in a media release Tuesday.
The Health Information Act requires health custodians to submit PIAs for review by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
"Since the app is already in use and compliance concerns were identified during the PIA review, the Commissioner decided to open an investigation on her own motion," the media release stated.
Another investigation is looking into whether Babylon Health Canada Ltd. is complying with Alberta's private sector privacy law.
The app launched in Alberta in March, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the province.
The app allows patients to meet virtually with a doctor.
But some doctors across the province have been unimpressed with the app and encouraged patients to call their family doctor rather than use the health app.
Dr. Bailey Adams, a St. Albert physician, said in March that family doctors are being hit on two fronts right now: patients are already concerned about attending doctors' offices in person, and doctors are now losing their patients to the online app.
“So many clinics are laying people off. It's that or shut our doors,” Adams said.
“Many clinics across Alberta are having to lay off their staff and are shutting their doors because they can't pay their overhead to keep the clinical open.”
The app allows for patients to meet with a doctor, but it’s not their family doctor, which takes business away from local clinics.
Adams said many patients sign up for the service expecting to be able to speak to their own family physician but instead they are being connecting with a doctor they’ve never met before.
Adams noted the privacy settings on the app are much different than if a patient was to talk to their family doctor. The patient’s location is accessed and the app records the conversations.
TELUS states the consultations are recorded so patients can access past sessions. Patients can opt out of having their consultations recorded.
The app is an initiative by TELUS Health, which partnered with UK-based Babylon. It is available in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario and offers video consultations with physicians. On its website, TELUS states the intent is to help people who don't have family doctors, who live in remote areas, who have needs outside regular working hours or who have trouble seeing a doctor in person.
Christine Molnar, president of the Alberta Medical Association, wrote to her fellow doctors to give them an update on her understanding of Babylon, which she described as a “virtual walk in clinic.”
“This type of virtual-only clinic could be helpful in providing access to Albertans in remote or underserved areas where they don’t have the option of having a regular family physician. However, like many tools in medicine, what helps can also harm if used the wrong way,” Molnar wrote.
The doctor said patients with access to a regular family physician could be drawn to the virtual clinic, which can result in the fragmentation and disruption of continuity of care.
The vast majority of doctors' offices are set up to deliver tele-health to their patients and the government recently changed billing codes so doctors are able to treat patients through the phone when necessary.
