Patient confidentiality? Don’t count on it

I think, whatever else is happening, there’s always one thing you can rely on to keep going. Data breaches.

Babylon Health data breach: GP app users able to see other people’s consultations – The Guardian
Babylon allows its members to speak to a doctor, therapist or other health specialist through a video call on a smartphone. It has more than 2.3 million registered users in the UK.
Babylon user Rory Glover told the BBC when he logged onto the app there were about 50 videos in the consultation replays section of the app that did not belong to him. “You don’t expect to see something like that when you’re using a trusted application. It’s shocking to see such a monumental mistake made,” he said.
Glover said he would not use the Babylon app again. “It’s an issue of doctor-patient confidentiality,” he said. “You expect anything you say to be private, not for it to be shared with a stranger.”

Don’t worry, though. The government’s on it.

Matt Hancock clueless about confidentiality breach at his own GP surgery – The Guardian
Speaking at the virtual CogX festival, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said he was unaware of the data breach, but that it did not affect his views on the value of private partnerships within the NHS. “What I care about is getting results,” Hancock said, “when companies will come and help in the middle of a pandemic. The honest truth is there is no way we would be able to deal with this without the support of the tech companies.”
After the panel had ended, the audio of Hancock’s conversation with his interviewer, the Telegraph’s Harry de Quetteville, continued to broadcast.
“[The] Babylon thing, I should have [known],” Hancock could be heard saying, “especially since they’re my GP.” After De Quetteville told him that the breach meant that someone may have been given access to his medical consultations, Hancock joked: “Honestly, they know more about my bunion than anybody.” The audio of the broadcast then cut off.