Despite criticism in terms of data protection: Google wants to continue working in the health sector

• Google is pursuing a new health strategy

• Critics fear for data protection

• The competition also continues to work in the healthcare sector

Google’s Health Care division has been dissolved

It was not until 2018 that the US company Google founded its health division, Health. Up to 500 people were employed in the department. The division was created to lead the tech company’s healthcare strategy, according to CNBC. However, the division shut down in August of this year as the company has faced repeated backlash over the intersection of Google, AI and healthcare data. Former Google health chief David Feinberg is now CEO of healthcare IT provider Cerner. At a conference in June, when asked about the need to generate revenue, Feinberg replied: “The real pressure is ‘is this really going to help millions of people?'”.

Google is pursuing this strategy in the healthcare sector

Nevertheless, the group has not yet given up on the topic of health. “Google Health is dedicated to helping everyone live better lives every day through products and services that connect health information and make it meaningful,” says the Google Health website . Karen DeSalvo, Google’s chief health officer, told CNBC that despite the division’s dissolution, the company wants to continue to include health in everything it does. The aim of the new strategy is to focus on the three areas that can make a difference for users and their communities. These include Google’s search capabilities, access to cloud tools for caregivers, and providing community context on the social determinants of health, DeSalvo told CNBC.

However, deals between Google and healthcare IT services companies are raising privacy concerns among critics, according to CNBC. This is also the case with the partnerships between Google and the health organizations Mayo Clinic, Ascension and HCA. The Ascension deal has drawn criticism from both privacy advocates and the government, and even from some Ascension employees. Fitbit’s $2.1 billion acquisition was also viewed critically for privacy concerns. The US Department of Justice was investigating the takeover because it gave Google access to private data. However, Google explained that the acquisition was only about Fitbit’s hardware and not about access to users’ health data, according to CNBC. In addition, Google undertook not to use the collected wellness and health data for personalized advertising.

That’s what the competition is working on

But not only the tech giant Google has big plans in the healthcare sector. The competition is also working hard in this area. For example, Apple is trying to get involved in the health sector with the Apple Watch and the Health app, which collects and stores health data and can also share the data with others, as CNBC reports. For its part, Amazon launched an online pharmacy and the telehealth service “Amazon Care” for employees this year. The online retailer also launched the “Halo View” health tracker, which aims to compete with Google’s Fitbit and Apple’s Apple Watch.

Such advances are enabling improvements in preventative healthcare and healthcare, and tech companies like Google and Apple will continue to find a way to break into this space, CNBC explains. “Users have a right to their data, and it’s important that people know that technology [dieses Recht] allows. [Und] we need to make sure the healthcare business sector respects and understands that we should be sharing this data with consumers so they can have more control over their health,” DeSalvo said.

E. Schmal / Editor finanzen.net

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