Tech firm linked to Google accessed 1.6million NHS patient files with ‘no legal basis’ to test an app
Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating the transfer of data
A TECH firm linked to Google accessed 1.6 million NHS patient files “with no legal basis”.
Company DeepMind was allowed to use the data to test an app that alerts doctors if patients risk kidney injuries.
The firm is owned by Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
But Dame Fiona Caldicott, the National Data Guardian, has written to a director at the Royal Free Hospital, in London, which helped with the app.
She said the legal consent of patients for sharing data should only be assumed if it is for their care, not to develop an app.
Dame Fiona’s letter adds: “It is my view and that of my panel that the purpose for the transfer of 1.6 million identifiable patient records to Google DeepMind was for the testing of this Streams application, and not for the provision of direct care to patients.
“My considered opinion therefore remains that it would not have been within the reasonable expectation of patients that their records would have been shared for this purpose.”
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating the transfer of data.
A spokesman for the Royal Free said: “The Streams app was built in close collaboration with clinicians to help prevent unnecessary deaths by alerting them to patients in need in a matter of seconds.
"It is now in use at the Royal Free, and is helping clinicians provide better, faster care to our patients.
Nurses report that it is saving them hours each day.
“We took a safety-first approach in testing Streams using real data.
"This was to check that the app was presenting patient information accurately and safely before being deployed in a live patient setting.
“Real patient data is routinely used in the NHS to check new systems are working properly before turning them fully live.
"No responsible hospital would ever deploy a system that hadn’t been thoroughly tested.
"The NHS remained in full control of all patient data throughout.
No responsible hospital would ever deploy a system that hadn’t been thoroughly tested. The NHS remained in full control of all patient data throughout
“We are proud of the work we have done with DeepMind and will continue to be bold and brave for the benefit of our patients.”
A spokesman for DeepMind Health said: “Nurses and doctors have told us that Streams is already speeding up urgent care at the Royal Free and saving hours every day.
“The data used to provide the app has always been strictly controlled by the Royal Free and has never been used for commercial purposes or combined with Google products, services or ads — and never will be."