Surveillance and ICE Threaten Patient Access to Medical Care in New Report

New York: A report says when immigration agents visit hospitals and data companies track medical care-seekers, patients become scared. This makes them avoid getting treatment, causing delays and worse health.

The report, from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), says laws about privacy are old and digital systems keep getting better. Health data can be watched and shared without patients knowing.

EPIC shared that health information leaves medical settings. It gets sold and used for spying, which makes patients less likely to go for care. The report highlights that selling health data is a big part of this problem.

Companies buy and sell personal information, with no federal law to control it. They gather health data from apps, websites, and online searches, often without telling patients. Once this data is out, it’s hard to manage and can lead to more discrimination and high costs for care.

Last year, WIRED found Google’s ads used sensitive health data from third-party brokers. This meant advertisers could reach people with conditions like diabetes or asthma, despite Google’s policies against it.

A 2022 investigation showed that many hospitals sent private patient data to Facebook using Meta Pixel. They shared sensitive information when people tried to book appointments, including the names of doctors and search topics related to health issues.

Experts said some of this data sharing might break HIPAA, which protects patients’ medical information. EPIC argues big tech companies are making the health privacy crisis worse by mixing health and data systems and pushing easier data collection. The report warns it can harm public health, especially for those wary of surveillance.

EPIC’s senior counsel, Sara Geoghegan, said, “We have a health privacy crisis where people avoid care because of fear, costs, and rising government tracking.”