New study finds millions of Canadians' health data for sale

 

 

A new study finds millions of Canadians' health data for sale. The study found that private clinics are selling patient data to pharmaceutical companies. The study looked at how the medical records industry in Canada works and how patient data is accessed by different private entities.

The study found that networks of private primary care centers, doctors, commercial data brokers, and pharmaceutical companies are using patients' medical records for commercial purposes. Pharmaceutical companies are the ones who are using this data the most. This mainly works in two ways. According to this, some private clinics remove personal information such as patients' names and dates of birth and sell this data to an outside company. This company passes the information on to pharmaceutical companies. In another way, the clinics operate as a subsidiary of the company that collects the data. Through this, that company receives the patient's information directly.

Sometimes this data sharing can be beneficial for patients. But it can also have negative consequences, including increasing the cost of health care systems, said Matthew Herder, director of the Health Justice Institute at Dalhousie University. It's happening without any kind of transparency. That's also worrying, said Matthew Herder.