How is data managed? Do users get to have consent over how their data is used? And do they get a cut out of the value generated by using that data? Let’s take a walk on the wild side.

April 7 is World Health Day, and the occasion warrants a closer look at the way healthcare-related data is managed. The challenges are laid out in the World Health Organization’s bulletin on policy implications of big data in the health sector:

“In the field of health-related big data, the public needs to be reassured that security measures are mandated and enforced. As new analytical models, data sources and stakeholders increasingly build into dynamic relationships, it may be helpful to think of health-related big data as an evolving ecosystem.

There are several challenges to the future development of this data ecosystem. Even basic health data can be misused and lead to discrimination, especially of vulnerable populations. The fair distribution of any new benefits that may arise from the collection and analysis of big data may also pose hard challenges”.

The importance of healthcare cannot be overstated. Healthcare is not only tied to the most basic human needs, it also is a lucrative industry. There has been a “frenzy of health care-related dealmaking” recently, driven by data.

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