Australia’s biggest radiology provider, I-MED, has provided de-identified patient data to an artificial intelligence company without explicit patient consent, Crikey reported recently. The data were images such as X-rays and CT scans, which were used to train AI.

This prompted an investigation by the national Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. It follows an I-MED data breach of patient records dating back to 2006.

Angry patients are reportedly avoiding I-MED.

I-MED’s privacy policy does mention data sharing with “research bodies as authorised by Australian law”. But only 20% of Australians read and understand privacy policies, so it’s understandable these revelations shocked some patients.

So how did I-MED share patient data with another company? And how can we ensure patients can choose how their medical data is used in future?

Many of us will have had scans with I-MED: it’s a private company with more than 200 radiology clinics in Australia. These clinics provide medical imaging, such as X-rays and CT scans, to help diagnose disease and guide treatment.

I-MED partnered with the AI startup Harrison.ai in 2019. Annalise.ai is their joint venture to develop AI for radiology. I-MED clinics were early adopters of Annalise.ai systems.

I-MED has been buying up other companies, and is listed for sale, reportedly for A$4 billion.

Big commercial interests are at stake, and many patients potentially affected.

AI companies want your X-rays and CT scans because they need to “train” their models on lots of data.

In the context of radiology, “training” an AI system........

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