Kushner’s Task Force Considering Creating Coronavirus Surveillance System, Sources Say
- April 08, 2020
Politico (4/7, Cancryn) reports “White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s task force has reached out to a range of health technology companies about creating a national coronavirus surveillance system to give the government a near real-time view of where patients are seeking treatment and for what, and whether hospitals can accommodate them, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions.” The proposed “network could help determine which areas of the country can safely relax social-distancing rules and which should remain vigilant.” However, “it would also represent a significant expansion of government use of individual patient data, forcing a new reckoning over privacy limits amid a national crisis.” The piece adds that “one memo submitted by a group of health technology companies to Kushner, Vice President” Pence and HHS “Secretary Alex Azar...predicted it could supply the government with information on where and how many patients are seeking care across 80 percent of the U.S. ‘in short order.’”