Discover Google with access to around 1.6 million patient records

Critics express concerns about data security and privacy
Industry giant Google has now gained access to approximately 1.6 million UK patient records under an agreement to share data with the National Health Service (NHS). There are massive concerns about this, as there is concern for the privacy of the participants.

Google owns several companies, one of them is DeepMind. The company deals with artificial intelligence. As part of an ongoing project, DeepMind has been granted permission to access more than one million healthcare records to create a new medical application. Details of the agreement have now been published in the journal "New Scientist".

Google now has the right to view 1.6 million UK patient records and use their data to develop an app. Critics fear for privacy and privacy. (Image: DOC RABE Media / fotolia.com)

In some cases, data also includes explosive information
The company DeepMind was commissioned to develop an app that doctors should teach quickly and directly about the kidney damage of patients, the researchers say. However, some people have now become concerned about privacy being sufficiently protected and how much data has been made available to the company. According to the "New Scientist", a broad range of health data can be viewed on approximately 1.6 million patients who have been in a hospital from London's Royal Free NHS Trust in recent years. The data would be provided each year to the company DeepMind. Allegedly, the patient data of the last five years are accessible. The data includes information about people who have been tested HIV-positive, as well as details about drug overdoses and abortions.

The data will be used to develop an app that detects acute kidney damage
DeepMind will use this data to develop an app that improves evidence of acute kidney injury (AKI). The patient data provided will be needed to complete the new medical application, researchers say. This app should immediately check the blood test results for signs of kidney deterioration. Then, if necessary, she should send the results and a warning to the most qualified doctor, explain the experts. Google explained that there are no separate data sets for people with kidney disease. Therefore, the company needs access to all data to effectively develop the app, the scientists say. The data will be shared between DeepMind and the NHS under an agreement.

Data only serves to improve the health care system
The shared patient data is completely secure and only used in compliance with strict privacy rules, the researchers say. All data collected would serve purely to improve direct clinical care. A statement on the website states that none of the data can be traced back to a specific patient. They would be encrypted by DeepMind and could only be decrypted by devices at the hospitals. To ensure patient confidence, such projects require a high degree of transparency. Thus, patients can be protected from the confusion and ambiguity for what their data is used for, say the experts. Google has made assurances that the data collected will be encrypted and will not be used commercially. Google's staff will also be unable to identify specific patients, the researchers explain. These data would be used only for one purpose to improve the health care system. Data will never be linked to Google accounts or products, explains DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman. (As)