US company eMed takes over digital GP services
Bet: eMed boss Patrice Harris
A US healthcare firm has taken over the NHS’s digital GP services following the failure of previous provider Babylon.
Florida-based eMed snapped up Babylon UK after it went into administration in August.
“We are fully committed to all our patients, private and NHS, and our vision will be people-driven and digitally enabled,” said eMed chief executive Patrice Harris, who was the first African-American to serve as president of the American Medical Association. .
The sale means eMed will take over GP At Hand, a service contracted by the NHS to allow patients to book appointments and speak to doctors online or via video call.
Babylon created the service in 2017 and has more than 100,000 users.
But the firm, which was listed on the US stock market in 2021 at a value of more than £3bn, ran out of cash after trying to rapidly expand into the US market.
In May, the firm announced it would go private in a deal with Swiss digital neurotherapy firm MindMaze, but that quickly fell through and Babylon filed for US bankruptcy protection soon after.
The group’s five physical clinics in London will remain open.