Schakowsky, Colleagues Seek Answers from Amazon on Use of Patient Data
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), a Chief Deputy Whip and the Ranking Member of the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led her Democratic colleagues on the subcommittee in sending a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy raising concerns about data privacy shortfalls and HIPAA violations related to the use and transfer of health data gathered from users of Amazon Clinic. This letter comes at the same time Amazon announced the expansion of its virtual clinic, which will now be available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
“Pursuant to HIPAA, absent patient authorization, Amazon.com Services LLC, and other Amazon affiliates are prohibited from accessing, using, and disclosing the patient health records created by Amazon Clinic’s partner health care providers,” wrote the lawmakers. “Apparently to circumvent these data limitations, Amazon has taken the unprecedented and questionable step of requiring consumers of Amazon Clinic to authorize the ‘use and disclosure of protected health information’ to Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates to obtain treatment through this service.”
According to Amazon Clinic, refusal to sign the HIPAA authorization prohibits a consumer from obtaining services through the clinic. Thus, to receive care through Amazon Clinic, individuals must forfeit the federal data privacy protections granted to them under HIPAA.
“By requiring consumers to agree that their health treatment data can be used and disclosed by Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates for any purpose, including ‘to facilitate services from other providers,’ Amazon and its affiliates seek to exploit patient medical records in the same way that Amazon has exploited the lack of protections on consumer health information including using patient health records for upselling services to consumers, for targeted marketing, to develop artificial intelligence, and more,” the lawmakers continued. “Considering Amazon’s history of exploiting consumers’ data even after making privacy assurances, this practice as well as the vague statement describing use and disclosure of consumer information is unacceptable.”
The lawmakers concluded by asking whether Amazon.com Services LLC would commit to:
- Not selling consumer health data collected from customers who use the Amazon Clinic and HIPAA Authorization?
- Not using or sharing health data collected from customers of Amazon Clinic who are under the age of 17 for targeted marketing?
- Deleting consumer health data as requested at the end of the provision of services?
The letter was also signed by U.S. Representatives Kathy Castor (FL-14), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL), Darren Soto (FL-09), Lori Trahan (MA-03), and Yvette Clarke (NY-09), all of whom are Democrats on the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce.
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