Gemelli puts health data in the hands of the American Palantir
The Agostino Gemell polyclinic will use Foundry, Palantir's innovative operational platform, for the large-scale management and processing of clinical data. Meanwhile, the most controversial US data mining company is in the running to win the tender for the UK's patient data system, one of the largest health data repositories in the world.
The pope's hospital, the Agostino Gemelli polyclinic, has chosen Palantir, the most controversial Californian data mining company with deep ties to US secret services and military agencies, to develop healthcare data science.
Last September, the Gemelli Generator Real World Data (RWD), a research laboratory of the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, announced the start of a partnership with Palantir Technologies to create research solutions in the field of digital medicine, leveraging the artificial intelligence and high-performance management of big data.
The Denver-based company is known for its work supporting national defense. For those who have never heard of it before, just think that Palantir technology is used by the American border police, Ice, to detain migrants until military missions in Afghanistan. During the pandemic, both the United States and its allies have relied on Palantir software for contact tracing and analyzing health data. So it's not the first time that the company that creates software to manage, analyze and protect data (including tools to help track down terrorism suspects) has collaborated with healthcare institutions. The company has already supported the National Health Service (NHS), the English health service, with its analysis software in the management of ventilators and PPE tools to deal with the Covid pandemic.
Now Palantir appears to be the favorite to win a $595 million contract with the NHS to build the UK's patient data system, one of the largest health data repositories in the world. But activists and doctors fear its controversial ties to co-founder Peter Thiel, the US military and intelligence.
All the details.
WHAT PALANTIR IS AND WHAT IT DOES
Co-founded in 2003 in Palo Alto by Alex Karp and billionaire Peter Thiel, Palantir is a data mining company. The company develops software that can aggregate information on millions of people, including employment history, social networks, phone records and more.
Co-founder Thiel has close ties to former US President Donald Trump, as well as the Pentagon and law enforcement and intelligence sectors.
Palantir has attracted more than $3 billion in venture capital funding from investors including In-Q-Tel, the CIA's investment arm.
WHAT WILL PALANTIR DO FOR THE GEMELLI POLICLINIC
Specifically, the Generator RWD Research Center will use Foundry, Palantir's innovative operational platform, for large-scale clinical data management and processing. “Foundry's artificial intelligence capabilities will be used to support translational clinical research, with the aim of contributing to the processes of improving care systems and the development of digital solutions both in Italy and internationally,” we read in a statement note .
The research center of the polyclinic directed by Professor Vincenzo Valentini will use Palantir's software to "accelerate the path undertaken by Generator RWD and its partners aimed at an increasingly effective use of data for the generation of new evidence in many areas of clinical research ”.
“Sector operators are increasingly determined to effectively use data to design new therapies, improve the quality of care and the effectiveness of treatments. The Palantir team is proud to support global leaders such as the Gemelli Polyclinic, providing the best of its technologies to achieve the research and innovation mission of this prestigious healthcare institution,” commented Andrea Galvagni, Head of Italy at Palantir Technologies.
MEANWHILE, IN POLE FOR MEGA CONTRACT WITH THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE IN THE UK
As mentioned, Palantir is no stranger to collaborating with healthcare institutions.
And now the controversial US technology company, in partnership with consultancy firm Accenture, is in pole position to win the largest IT contract in the history of the English National Health Service (NHS). The nearly half-billion-pound contract to build the health service's operating system, the UK's Federated Data Platform, has been under consideration for months and was due to be announced soon.
“The NHS is believed to favor Palantir for its work to improve access to data during the pandemic, helping to reduce waiting lists and make operations more efficient,” says the Guardian .
However, doctors, privacy activists, academics and politicians have expressed concerns about awarding the contract to Palantir, whose origins are in the US intelligence sector.
THE PRIVACY QUESTION WITH HEALTH DATA AT CONCERN
The NHS contract will cover hospital data and patient information, with the winning software used to optimize care and treatments. The NHS and the Department of Health have repeatedly stressed that the contract concerns the software supplier and that health authorities will retain control of the data, the Guardian reports.
However, health ministers recently admitted that the NHS will not require any further consent from UK patients to use their health data collected during the pandemic in its new operating systems, although people will be able to withdraw consent . Civil society groups have raised the alarm about a single private company handling so much personal data, especially as it is dogged by concerns that its software could be used for mass surveillance, the New York Times reports.
THE STRATEGY OF THE CAPITOLINO RESEARCH CENTER
The controversy in the United Kingdom seems not to have reached the Roman hospital: “The added value of the Palantir software and the expertise in data-related innovation will enrich the products and services we are creating in co-development with our industry partners,” he said. explained Alfredo Cesario, CEO of GDMH (Gemelli Digital Medicine & Health).
“Real World Evidence is constantly growing to support clinical research. By integrating Foundry into the operating environment developed in the Generator RWD laboratory, we intend to accelerate projects to generate increasingly accurate and effective results" concluded Professor Vincenzo Valentini, Scientific Director of the Generator Center and Director of the Diagnostic Imaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology Department of the A. Gemelli University Hospital IRCCS.
More health data coming to Palantir's hands? No according to Valentini. When asked by Fatto Daily, “From an operational point of view – wrote Valentini – the projects are carried out by the center's researchers and Palantir staff, as well as other technological partners, are not allowed to carry out activities on the platform that are not related to software updates, user training and support in case of malfunctions. Furthermore, the system administration functions are carried out by Generator staff itself".
At the same time, the director of the Gemelli research center assured Il Fatto that the contract with Palantir will not result in a transfer of patient health data to the United States. “The Palantir software is installed at the AWS Center in Milan and the supply contract from Palantir Technologies to the Gemelli Polyclinic does not allow the transfer and/or processing of data in the USA either now or in the future”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-il-gemelli-mette-i-dati-sanitari-nelle-mani-dellamericana-palantir/ on Mon, 23 Oct 2023 06:04:15 +0000.