Monday, December 09, 2019
Is NHS data deal with Amazon the thin end of the wedge?
It is only a few days since the Sunday Times reported that NHS patient data may be exploited by US technology companies under a trade deal with America. They quoted leading trade economist, Alan Winters, who is director of the Trade Policy Observatory at Sussex University, that clauses on data sharing and algorithms US negotiators want inserted into a deal could be used to capture the value in NHS patient records, estimated at £10 billion a year.
It is disturbing therefore to find the UK Government roll over so quickly on this sort of provision by agreeing to a deal with Amazon, which will give them free access to healthcare information collected by the NHS. The material, which excludes patient data, could allow the multinational technology company to make, advertise and sell its own products.
The Guardian reports that the contract will allow the company access to information on symptoms, causes and definitions of conditions, and “all related copyrightable content and data and other materials”.
They add that Amazon, which is worth $863bn and is run by the world’s richest person, Jeff Bezos, can then create “new products, applications, cloud-based services and/or distributed software”, which the NHS would not benefit from financially. It can also share the information with third parties.
Is this the thin end of the wedge with regards to the sort of data that might be made available to US companies under a wider trade deal?
It is disturbing therefore to find the UK Government roll over so quickly on this sort of provision by agreeing to a deal with Amazon, which will give them free access to healthcare information collected by the NHS. The material, which excludes patient data, could allow the multinational technology company to make, advertise and sell its own products.
The Guardian reports that the contract will allow the company access to information on symptoms, causes and definitions of conditions, and “all related copyrightable content and data and other materials”.
They add that Amazon, which is worth $863bn and is run by the world’s richest person, Jeff Bezos, can then create “new products, applications, cloud-based services and/or distributed software”, which the NHS would not benefit from financially. It can also share the information with third parties.
Is this the thin end of the wedge with regards to the sort of data that might be made available to US companies under a wider trade deal?
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American companies get into the NHS via the back door to make hay whilst the NHS get nowt but has to pay for itself via our taxes..
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