Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospital Group Involved In 'Project Nightingale' Defends Actions As Covered Under A Business Clause Of HIPAA
Stat: HHS To Probe If Google’s 'Project Nightingale' Followed Privacy Law
A federal regulator is investigating whether the federal privacy law known as HIPAA was followed when Google (GOOGL) collected millions of patient records through a partnership with nonprofit hospital chain Ascension. The probe, first reported by the Wall Street Journal Tuesday night, was opened by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. “OCR would like to learn more information about this mass collection of individuals’ medical records with respect to the implications for patient privacy under HIPAA,” Roger Severino, the office’s director, said in a statement to STAT. (Robbins and Ross, 11/13)
Modern Healthcare: Google, Ascension Data Partnership Sparks Federal Probe
The federal probe concerns a project that Google launched last year, internally referred to as "Project Nightingale," which involves analyzing health data from patients who received care at St. Louis-based Ascension, one of the nation's largest health systems. Data reportedly includes patients' lab results, medications and diagnoses. (Cohen, 11/13)
Reuters: Apple Watch Detects Irregular Heartbeats In U.S. Study
Apple Inc's Heart study, the largest yet to explore the role of wearable devices in identifying potential heart problems, found the device could accurately detect atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), come as technology companies increasingly strike up partnerships with drugmakers as a way to gather large amounts of real-time health data on individuals. (11/13)
