El Salvador’s Google AI App Screens Patients, Raises Cost and Privacy Alarms

**El Salvador’s Google AI App Screens Patients, Raises Cost and Privacy Alarms** El Salvador has begun using an artificial intelligence tool developed by Google to screen people for chronic illnesses, sending those flagged as high-risk to private laboratories for further testing and specialist consultations. The app uses AI to assist with diagnoses, but questions are mounting over who pays for the follow-up care and how sensitive patient data will be kept secure [135504]. The system is designed to catch conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure early, potentially saving lives and reducing long-term healthcare costs. However, experts and critics point out that the program funnels patients into private-sector labs and clinics, raising concerns about affordability for a population where many cannot afford even basic medical services. There is also no clear public guarantee about the storage or protection of the health data collected by the AI [135504]. The initiative comes as countries like the United Kingdom are seeing their population’s health decline. According to a new analysis by the Health Foundation, people in the UK now live fewer years in good health than they did a decade ago, a measure known as “healthy life expectancy” that has fallen while rising in most other wealthy nations [133891]. Another study by the same foundation confirms that this downward trend is linked to long-standing problems: the obesity crisis, a record 2.8 million working-age Britons too sick to work, and a growing prevalence of mental illness [133886]. Meanwhile, Africa is facing a surge in non-communicable diseases—cancers, diabetes, and heart disease—that do not spread from person to person. The Academy of Public Health has inducted new leaders and is calling for stronger digital innovation and shared leadership among nations to build a united response across the continent [13670]. These efforts mirror El Salvador’s use of AI, but the challenge of ensuring equitable access remains. Sources: El Salvador Uses Google AI to Track Chronic Patients UK health is going backwards: Years of good health falling. UK health crisis deepens: People sicker, sooner New Health Leaders to Combat Africa's Rising Disease Challenge