Google has been collecting the Private Health Data of patients. The company is accused of not informing the patients or their doctors. Now Google says that this all is the part of its ‘Project Nightingale’ to improve the software by advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning for patient care.
Wall Street journals report release all this information about Google’s Project Nightingale. Reports say that the world’s second-largest health care provider company is sharing this data with Google. The patient records contain their name, age, lab reports, doctor diagnosis, as well as their hospital records. Health heavyweight Ascension is a catholic system that proved healthcare to 21 states and the district of Columbia.
Ascension, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit health systems, is working with Google to optimize 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
Wall Journal says that this sensitive patient data is from 21 states of Washington D.C. Ascension’s website also reveals the same information but there are only 19 states mentioned. The states are New York, Georgia, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arkansas, Maryland, Illinois, and Kansas.
Google’s more than 150 employees have access to this data. It is clear that Google’s Project Nightingale for the positive work but not informing tens of million patients before collecting the data is a concern. Some privacy experts said to the journal that this project collecting data does not break any law.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, generally allows hospitals to share data with business partners without telling patients, as long as the information is used ‘only to help the covered entity carry out its health care functions.
Google Cloud president Tariq Shaukat published a blog post saying that the health data will not be misused. We have to wait more to see what this “Nightingale” will bring.