The US Department of Health and Human Services has recently launched an inquiry into “Project Nightingale;” a partnership between a Ascension, a Catholic healthcare non-profit, and Google. Ascension manages 2,600 healthcare centers across 20 states. The partnership allows 150 Google employees access to the healthcare data of millions of Ascension patients. Project Nightingale, although a huge success for Google Cloud, has raised significant concerns over Google employees’ access to private health data including lab results, diagnoses, and hospitalization records.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has launched an investigation that aims to ensure compliance with HIPAA regulations and ensure that its protections are being fully implemented. Google Cloud announced the deal on Monday and CEO Sundar Pichai guaranteed that significant measures are being taken to protect customer data.
Read More: Google’s plan to collect health data on millions of Americans faces federal inquiry
