Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With 'Project Nightingale,' Google Amassing Health Care Data On Millions Of Patients Without Their Knowledge
The Wall Street Journal: Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data On Millions Of Americans
Google is engaged with one of the U.S.’s largest health-care systems on a project to collect and crunch the detailed personal-health information of millions of people across 21 states. 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. Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are also aggressively pushing into health care, though they haven’t yet struck deals of this scope. Google began Project Nightingale in secret last year with St. Louis-based Ascension, a Catholic chain of 2,600 hospitals, doctors’ offices and other facilities, with the data sharing accelerating since summer, according to internal documents. (Copeland, 11/11)
The New York Times: Google To Store And Analyze Millions Of Health Records
The partnership between Google and the medical system, Ascension, could have huge reach. Ascension operates 150 hospitals in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Under the arrangement, the data of all Ascension patients could eventually be uploaded to Google’s cloud computing platform. It is legal for health systems to share patients’ medical information with business partners like electronic medical record companies. Even so, many patients may not trust Google, which has paid multiple fines for violating privacy laws, with their personal medical details. (Singer and Wakabayashi, 11/11)
Reuters: Google Signs Healthcare Data And Cloud Computing Deal With Ascension
Google said in a blog post on Monday that patient data "cannot and will not be combined with any Google consumer data." Ascension "are the stewards of the data, and we provide services on their behalf," wrote Tariq Shaukat, president for industry products and solutions at Google Cloud. In a press release, Ascension said the partnership is in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) which safeguards medical information. (Dave, 11/11)
Stat: Google Partners With Major Health System, Gaining Access To Patient Data
In recent years, hospitals nationwide have begun entering into contracts with large technology companies to store patient information in their clouds, where it can be analyzed using machine learning tools to help providers analyze patients’ health needs and zero in on the most effective treatments for specific conditions. Earlier this year, Mayo Clinic inked a sweeping 10-year partnership with Google to store its data in the company’s cloud and use its tools to analyze clinical information, although it emphasized any patient data shared with Google would be de-identified. (Ross, 11/11)
Bloomberg: Google Gets Access To Health Data With Ascension Partnership
Google and other big tech companies have been pushing into health care in recent years. Apple Inc. asks its Apple Watch users to opt in to studies on heart rate, while Amazon.com Inc. has bought an online pharmacy and partnered with other corporations on a health venture called Haven. Google, for its part, has built a significant health-care team and is experimenting with using artificial intelligence to improve health care. (DeVynck, 11/11)
The Hill: Google Has Collected Health Data On Millions Of Americans Through New Partnership: Report
Questions have been raised about whether Google’s actions broke federal law, but privacy experts say it doesn’t. The experts reference the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 that says data can be shared with business partners without consent of the patient “only to help the covered entity carry out its health-care functions,” the Journal reported. (Coleman, 11/11)
