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Facebook Was in Talks With Top Hospitals Until Last Month To Share Data of Most Vulnerable Patients (cnbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the things-Facebook-does dept.

Facebook was in talks with top hospitals and other medical groups as recently as last month about a proposal to share data about the social networks of their most vulnerable patients, CNBC reported on Thursday. From the story: Facebook was intending to match it up with user data it had collected, and help the hospitals figure out which patients might need special care or treatment. The proposal never went past the planning phases and has been put on pause after the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal raised public concerns over how Facebook and others collect and use detailed information about Facebook users. "This work has not progressed past the planning phase, and we have not received, shared, or analyzed anyone's data," a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC. But as recently as last month, the company was talking to several health organizations, including Stanford Medical School and American College of Cardiology, about signing the data-sharing agreement.

6 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Hashing and anonymity by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If it can be matched up with real-world profiles, it's no longer anonymous. If the hashing DOESN'T work correctly, the wrong people could be labeled with health conditions, and God forbid this data is re-sold to insurance corepirations.

    This seems like a HIPAA nightmare, and if this goes forward, this needs to be slapped with a restraining order by HHS. This is a borderline criminal idea and should be treated as such.

    1. Re: Hashing and anonymity by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Depends who's in charge. I dislike Trump's authoritarianism, but think his hatred for the tech industry is useful. If he can destroy or slow down the growth of the ad-supported, privacy-sucking tech firms like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, etc, then that will be one of the few good things his administration has done.

  2. Facebook versus HIPAA by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Jenny Johnson is currently in Virginia Mason hospital, room 1231! If you know Jenny, click "Like" to send her your best wishes.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  3. On the Bright Side by techsoldaten · · Score: 3, Interesting

    On the bright side, such an agreement could work towards furthering our understanding of the root causes of a variety of medical and psychological problems.

    Facebook is nothing but an ad-funded spy network. It gathers information about billions of people. If there is any good to come from that colossal invasion of privacy, it would be preventative care.

  4. Re:Computers made me a luddite. by kbonin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Enjoy having a doctor that tries to protect your privacy while you can.
    from New Hampshire: A doctor who won't use a computer loses her license to practice medicine

  5. Re:Computers made me a luddite. by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Her actual issue was poor record-keeping -- excessive opioid prescriptions also played into it. BTW, local electronic medical record solutions that can be totally isolated from the "cloud"/Internet do exist, and are used.