The NHS partnered with Amazon to allow Alexa devices to offer health advice from certified physicians and pharmacists. With the partnership, Amazon is collecting healthcare information to develop, advertise and sell its own products.
Though Amazon is barred from collecting patient information, documents show the company has access to data on symptoms, causes and definitions of conditions, reports The Guardian.
Amazon said that the information it is gathering can be found on the NHS website.
“Amazon does not build customer health profiles based on interactions with nhs.uk content or use such requests for marketing purposes,” the company said in a statement to The Guardian.
A spokesperson for NHS said, “No patient data is being provided to this company by the NHS, which takes data privacy extremely seriously and has put appropriate safeguards in place to ensure information is used correctly,” according to The Guardian.
More articles on cybersecurity:
Michigan insurer alerts members of data breach
Sentara Hospitals agrees to $2.2M HIPAA settlement for incorrectly reporting data breach
16 cybersecurity incidents in November
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
