As we sink deeper into the digital age, a problem emerges. People dislike the idea of giving up their data to some vast and powerful entity. But, increasingly, you can’t run things without them.
The dilemma sharpens when it comes to health systems. These involve the most sensitive kind of personal information – the sort you’d really rather not end up in the hands of insurers, say, or a future employer. Yet without a powerful data system to crunch through everyone’s medical histories, things fall apart. The right file from your GP doesn’t quite get to the paramedics in time and they give you the wrong treatment. You move from one city to another and somehow half your vaccine record goes missing.
