In a shocking revelation, telehealth startup, Zombify, announced that it’s been sharing personal data of over 3.1 million US patients with some of the biggest companies on the internet. Companies like Google, Meta, and TikTok were listed among the culprits. The move has been dubbed “telehealth gone wild” by one of the startup’s disgruntled employees.
The startup has been described as the Frankenstein’s monster of the healthcare industry, with its obsession with big data and disregard for patient privacy. The company’s founder, Dracula, says that he’s fully aware of the consequences of sharing data but simply doesn’t care. “We’re the only ones who can get data on patients in real-time. We’re like the NSA of healthcare.”
The patient data shared included sensitive information like patient names, addresses, and social security numbers. TikTok, which received the data, is said to have used the information to create a new dance challenge called “The Telehealth Shuffle”. Google, on the other hand, used the information to launch a new feature on its search engine called “Google Diagnose”. “Now, you can self-diagnose using Google, and we’ll even recommend companies like Zombify for treatment,” said a Google spokesperson.
Meta, meanwhile, denied any involvement in the sharing of patient data, blaming the whole thing on algorithm errors. “We’re still trying to figure out how this happened. We never would have shared such sensitive information if we were aware of it,” said a Meta representative.
The move has left the patients affected by the data sharing outraged. “I didn’t sign up to have my medical information shared with TikTok. I just wanted to speak to a doctor over the phone,” said one of the patients. Meanwhile, Zombify has promised that they will do better in the future. Without a trace of irony, Dracula said, “Our top priority is patient privacy.”
