Google wants to take care of our health… but in secret
Google gained access to the medical data of 50 million Americans to create software that improves healthcare. But it did so in secret: it told neither the doctors nor the patients.
The better we get to know the big technology companies, the less they surprise us. This week it was Google’s turn. The multinational entered into a commercial partnership with the second-largest health system in the US to develop new software that helps doctors take better care of patients.
That deal came at a price. In an unprecedented transfer of sensitive data, Google imported into its cloud the medical records of more than 50 million patients, including names, dates of birth, test results and even diagnoses, gaining access to them. Worse: it informed neither the doctors nor the patients themselves.
AI translation from the Portuguese. First published in ECO on 14 November 2019.