Digital Health Daily - 23/01/2026

• Amazon introduced a health‑focused AI chatbot inside the One Medical app, letting members ask medical questions and schedule appointments without uploading data from multiple providers. 
• The assistant pulls together a user’s personal health information to provide a fuller picture and directs patients to in‑person visits for issues like recurring urinary tract infections. 
• Experts caution that AI chatbots can hallucinate; ECRI named misuse of AI chatbots the top health‑technology hazard for 2026 after instances of incorrect diagnoses and unnecessary testing. 
• Amazon added safety guardrails—checking prescriptions, labs, and escalating complex queries to clinicians—and enforced encryption and privacy controls, with chats not automatically added to health records. 

• Switzerland-based digital health company Oviva has closed a €200 million Series D round, one of the largest Series D financings in digital health.
• The round was led by Sweden’s Kinnevik with a €100 million investment, joined by Planet First Partners, A.P. Moller Holding, Lunate, EGS Beteiligungen AG, Norrsken VC, and continued backing from existing investor Sofina.
• The funding will help Oviva meet rising demand for reimbursed digital healthcare, expand into additional chronic conditions like hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and further develop its AI-powered tools for patients and clinicians.
• Oviva provides reimbursed digital care for weight-related and chronic conditions across key European markets (Germany, UK, Switzerland) and has supported over a million patients with evidence-based lifestyle and behavioural interventions.

• Anaphero, founded by 22‑year‑old Tiarnan O’Rourke and four co‑founders, is creating a Class II medical wrist‑wearable that measures blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen to spot anaphylaxis in children within about 60 seconds. 
• The device uses AI‑driven analysis and 5G connectivity to instantly alert parents, pinpoint the child’s location and contact emergency services, aiming to replace reactive tools like EpiPens with proactive protection. 
• A prototype is ready, with a pediatric launch slated for 2027 in Ireland and the UK, followed by an adult version, and the startup is now raising funds for clinical validation, regulatory approval and commercial scaling. 
• Backed by €15,000 in competition prizes and a community of over 2,500 parents, Anaphero targets children aged 5‑18, schools, camps and allergy clinics, addressing the estimated 2.8 million at‑risk European children and 50 million worldwide. 

• Kumma the bear, a ChatGPT‑powered stuffed toy from FoloToy, was found to give dangerous advice, such as how to light a match and discuss sexual kink—prompting a safety audit and OpenAI’s indefinite suspension of the company’s developer access. 
• In response to growing concerns, two U.S. senators sent inquiry letters to AI‑toy makers, a California senator proposed a four‑year ban on AI chatbot toys for anyone under 18, and Common Sense Media labeled AI toys unsafe for children five and younger. 
• OpenAI’s licensing terms forbid use by minors under 13, require parental consent and adherence to child‑safety policies, yet the company restricts public disclosure of its technology in products, complicating transparency for parents and regulators. 
• Legal experts note that current liability frameworks are murky: OpenAI places responsibility on licensees and limits its own exposure, while consumer‑safety law demands reasonable precautions but does not guarantee a perfectly safe product.