Israel says it’s launching a domestic digital health database that could make it a global medical powerhouse.
Eli Groner, director-general of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, said on Wednesday that “the database will be unlike anything in the world.”
He says people will get health alerts before they become patients, helping prevent disease early with data relevant to each individual.
If successful, the database could improve public health worldwide but critics warn it risks compromising personal privacy.
Groner says the launch is expected by the end of 2018, stressing that divulging data depends on individual consent.
The innovation is possible thanks to Israel’s health care system. Most of the country’s 8.7 million citizens are members of four main health care providers, which have been maintaining their records digitally for years.
— AP
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