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Google secretly gathering health data of Americans: Report
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IANS | 12 Nov, 2019
Google is reportedly gathering
health information of millions of US citizens -- without informing them
or their doctors -- to design an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven
software, the media reported.
According to a report in The Wall
Street Journal, "Google is engaged with one of the US's largest
health-care systems on a project to collect and crunch the detailed
personal-health information of millions of people across 21 states" and
at least 150 Google staffers may have access to the data.
St.
Louis-based faith-based healthcare organisation Ascension is sharing lab
results, diagnoses and hospitalisation records -- as well as health
histories complete with patient names and dates of birth -- with Google,
the report claimed.
"The initiative, code-named 'Project
Nightingale,' appears to be the biggest effort yet by a Silicon Valley
giant to gain a toehold in the health-care industry through the handling
of patients medical data," the report said.
The crunching of
health data is the next big frontier for tech giants as Apple to Amazon
and Microsoft are aiming big to infuse data findings into their devices
and solutions in the burgeoning healthcare space.
The New York
Times later wrote that "dozens of Google employees" may have access to
sensitive patient data and some may have downloaded that data too.
As part of "Project Nightingale", Ascension uploaded patient data to Google's Cloud servers.
In a blog post, Google tried to clarify its partnership with Ascension.
"All
of Google's work with Ascension adheres to industry-wide regulations
regarding patient data, and come with strict guidance on data privacy,
security and usage," said Tariq Shaukat, President, Industry Products
and Solutions, Google Cloud.
Google said it has a Business
Associate Agreement (BAA) with Ascension, which governs access to
Protected Health Information (PHI) for the purpose of helping providers
support patient care.
"To be clear: under this arrangement,
Ascension's data cannot be used for any other purpose than for providing
these services we're offering under the agreement, and patient data
cannot and will not be combined with any Google consumer data," said the
company.
Ascension also issued a statement, saying it is working
with Google to optimise the health and wellness of individuals and
communities, and deliver a comprehensive portfolio of digital
capabilities that enhance the experience of Ascension consumers,
patients and clinical providers across the continuum of care.
"All
work related to Ascension's engagement with Google is HIPAA (Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) compliant and
underpinned by a robust data security and protection effort and
adherence to Ascension's strict requirements for data handling," said
the healthcare company.
According to Google, some of the
solutions it is working on with Ascension are not yet in active clinical
deployment, but rather are in early testing.
"This is one of the reasons we used a code name for the work -- in this case, Nightingale," it added.
However, neither Google nor Ascension directly replied to the WSJ report.
In
2017, Google partnered with the University of Chicago Medical Centre to
develop machine learning tools capable of "accurately predicting
medical events -- such as whether patients will be hospitalised, how
long they will stay, and whether their health is deteriorating despite
treatment for conditions such as urinary tract infections, pneumonia, or
heart failure."
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