FT: Palantir Gets Unlimited NHS Patient Data Access
Is this a secure data-sharing arrangement or a dangerous betrayal of public trust?
Above: Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, U.K., on Jan. 3, 2018. Image credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
In delivering the FDP, the NHS and Palantir treat patient data with the utmost concern. That is why the FDP project has a series of protections, ranging from clear regulations and cybersecurity to active monitoring, to ensure that external contractors abide by the NHS's standards and guarantee that private medical records remain safely in the U.K.
Establishment-critical narrative
Opening up the NHS to Palantir in the first place — a shadowy firm tied to war crimes, mass deportations and whose founder openly mocks the NHS — was a serious betrayal of public trust. Allowing them unfettered access to patient data, however, is well and truly beyond the pale, and sets a dangerous precedent for who gets access to sensitive medical records.