Responding to Google’s claims that doctors “use” Snapchat to send photos for a second opinion, coordinator of medConfidential Phil Booth said: “Had Google managed to buy Snapchat, they wouldn’t have said anything about this. The Report blames doctors for hygiene, and the hospital for it’s IT systems, everyone but Google. Now they’re blaming doctors for their choice of secure messaging apps to care for patients with whom they have a direct care relationship – something Google clearly fails to understand.”

If the assertions are based on evidence acquired in the Review, that should have been reported to CQC – unless there was a see no wrong, hear no wrong policy in place. Google provided no evidence that Doctors actually do this, just that they could install an app. They could also use any google messaging tool (except no one uses any of them). We fully expect DeepMind will “surprisingly” come out with a messaging app for doctors, which will be no better than email, and so solve none of the widely understood problems that mean fax machines are still useful. 

Doctors are responsible for safely caring for their patients, and it’s up to them which safe and lawful tool to use. The only reason DeepMind care is they have an tool to sell; and they’re still in denial that they way they built it was unlawful.

We’re mostly surprised that Google didn’t use this to kick Facebook; but perhaps they didn’t want to criticise another member of the Partnership on AI…

Original press release here: https://medconfidential.org/2017/medconfidential-initial-comment-on-the-google-deepmind-independent-reviewers-report/