Google Inks Multiyear Agreement to Develop Algorithms for HCA Healthcare

Google will develop healthcare algorithms for HCA Healthcare Inc. under a multiyear agreement, the WSJ reported.

• Under the agreement, Google and HCA engineers will establish algorithms based on patient records to improve efficiency and monitoring, and guide doctor’s decisions.
• The deal involves data consolidation and storage with Google from digital records and internet-connected medical devices.
• Google will not gain access to identifying information, and will only access data when needed with consent from HCA.
• HCA will retain full control of the access to the data, as personal patient information is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
• HCA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jonathan Perlin said the partnership will bring about a “central nervous system” that will assist in the interpretation of various signals.
• Google earlier inked similar deals with other hospital systems such as Ascension which gave the tech giant access to personal patient information. This drew public ire.

GOOGL: Nasdaq is up 0.69%; while HCA: NYSE is up 1.28%.