Alphabet Inc's Google is teaming up with a healthcare company on a secret project to collect personal health-related information of millions of Americans across 21 states, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Google launched Project Nightingale last year with St. Louis-based Ascension, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter and internal documents. Google and Ascension did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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The data involved in Project Nightingale includes lab results, doctor diagnoses, and hospitalisation records, among other categories, and amounts to a complete health history that includes patient names and dates of birth, the newspaper reported.
The news follows an earlier announcement from Google that it would buy Fitbit Inc for $2.1bn, aiming to enter the market for wearables and invest in digital health.
