TL;DR
Patients with rare conditions can now use Mirror, an AI app that records medical appointments and summarises them, at no cost for two years, Digital Health reported on Thursday 8 October. AstraZeneca’s rare disease arm, Alexion, is paying for the access in a partnership with UK start-up Aide Health.
What the app does
Mirror, launched in October 2025, captures a consultation and turns it into a summary of what was discussed, including agreed next steps. Patients can go back over the notes later and pass them to family, carers or other clinicians. The patient decides when to record, and the app explains how to let the clinician know it is running. The free access runs through Apple’s and Google’s app stores.
Mirror carries Class I medical device registration with the MHRA, the UK’s medicines and devices regulator, and is not meant to replace a clinician’s advice.
Why rare disease patients
The UK government’s Rare Diseases Framework puts the UK’s rare disease population at over 3.5 million. Many see several specialists across different services and face long waits for a diagnosis. Ian Wharton, Aide Health’s co-founder and chief executive, said a quarter of patients wait five years or more, and described Mirror as “the patient’s consistent record” across that journey.
Research from RareCare, cited in the report, found that 47% of rare disease patients surveyed thought information was not passed on well by those treating them. And 40% judged co-ordination between doctors and services to be poor or worse. Deborah Richards, who runs Alexion’s UK and Ireland business, said the app gives patients and their families “a practical way to capture important information”.
A second NHS route
Aide Health is also working inside the NHS. Since September, six primary care networks in North West London have been offering its app to COPD patients, those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in a six-month programme. It supports medicine routines, symptom tracking and self-management at home, while helping clinicians spot patients who may need more help.
Looking forward
In our view, the notable shift is who holds the recording: Mirror sits in the patient’s pocket rather than on the clinician’s desk. That could help people whose care is spread across many teams. It also raises practical questions for clinics about consent and how a patient-held summary is treated alongside the official record. A drug company paying for access is also worth noting when weighing how the tool is promoted.