Dive With Data

Asha Saxena takes a deep look at what data privacy and ethics means in the world of healthcare with Darrell Walter of Penn State Health. Data privacy and ethics in healthcare is a big deal, because it affects all of us on at least some level. From health insurance premiums, healthcare access, employment, and even on a personal level of not wanting all our personal health information being made available to anyone who wants it. So why is this worth a discussion? We have data protection laws, right? Well, this is where we step into a gray world. Big data in healthcare raises ethical issues because the data is used without a patient’s consent. Medical records are governed by rules to protect privacy so most health data can be stripped of identifying information like your age or your lifestyle habits. However, it could cross into an ethical gray area if patient privacy is compromised. Meanwhile, the federal government has opened an immense store of healthcare knowledge including data from clinical trials and info