On the record

Google's artificial intelligence unit DeepMind is getting serious about healthcare - with ambitious plans to digitise the NHS - but first it needs to convince patients to hand over their medical records. Back in February, it began work with the Royal Free to create an app to help doctors spot patients who might be at risk of developing kidney disease. The first most knew of the partnership was when it emerged some months later that it would be accessing 1.6 million patient records as part of the deal. That led to some pretty negative headlines and questions from some of the patients involved as to why they had not been informed their data was being used in this way. The app - dubbed Streams - is now under investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) while the National Data Guardian, which is tasked with safeguarding health data, is also looking at it. Newly determined to forge a better relationship with the public, Google hosted its first ever patient engagement forum this week at its new headquarters in King's Cross, pledging that it wanted, in future, to work in closer partnership with the public.