Our Bodies, Our Data: How Companies Make Billions Selling Our Medical Records by Adam Tanner Summary

1. How companies profit from your medical data without consent
2. Why "anonymized" health records can still identify you personally
3. The hidden multibillion-dollar shadow economy trading patient dossiers
4. How drug companies use prescription histories to target doctors
5. Why HIPAA fails to protect your health data from brokers
6. How data brokers build profiles using pharmacy and insurance records
7. The alarming rise of medical identity theft through data reidentification
8. Why patients lack access to their own aggregated health histories
9. How insurers use purchased data to influence coverage decisions
10. Adam Tanner exposes the dark side of medical big data
11. Why medical privacy erosion threatens trust in healthcare systems
12. How to balance scientific progress with patient data rights

About the Author

Adam Tanner, author of Our Bodies, Our Data: How Companies Make Billions Selling Our Medical Records, is a leading authority on data privacy and the commercialization of personal information.

A fellow at Harvard University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science and former Reuters correspondent with postings in the Balkans, San Francisco, and Moscow, Tanner combines investigative rigor with a deep understanding of global data ecosystems.

His work, including the Washington Post-notable What Stays in Vegas: The World of Personal Data—Lifeblood of Big Business—and the End of Privacy as We Know It, exposes how industries profit from sensitive information while reshaping privacy debates. A frequent commentator on CNN, NPR, and BBC platforms, Tanner’s insights draw from decades of frontline reporting and academic research.

He was part of the Reuters team named a 2012 Pulitzer finalist for coverage of the Libyan revolution, underscoring his commitment to uncovering systemic truths. Our Bodies, Our Data continues his mission to illuminate the hidden trade-offs between innovation, profit, and individual rights in the digital age.

FAQs About This Book

What is Our Bodies, Our Data by Adam Tanner about?

Our Bodies, Our Data exposes the multi-billion-dollar trade in anonymized medical records, prescriptions, and insurance claims sold by data brokers to pharmaceutical companies, insurers, and marketers. Adam Tanner investigates how this hidden industry prioritizes profit over patient privacy, highlighting risks of re-identification and the lack of comprehensive health records for actual care.

Who should read Our Bodies, Our Data?

This book is essential for healthcare professionals, policymakers, privacy advocates, and anyone concerned about data ethics. It offers critical insights for patients seeking to understand how their medical information is commercialized without consent.

Is Our Bodies, Our Data worth reading?

Yes—Tanner’s investigative rigor and clear storytelling make it a landmark work on medical privacy. It sheds light on systemic exploitation in healthcare data markets, offering a compelling case for regulatory reform.

How does medical data get sold without patient consent?

Hospitals, pharmacies, and insurers sell anonymized records to data brokers like IMS Health (now IQVIA), which aggregate billions of patient profiles. These dossiers—stripped of names but retaining identifiers like birth year and doctor details—are monetized for drug marketing and research.

What are the risks of re-identifying anonymized medical data?

Advanced algorithms can cross-reference anonymized data with public records to reveal identities, exposing patients to discrimination, insurance denial, or employment issues. Tanner warns that purported “anonymization” often fails to protect privacy.

How does Our Bodies, Our Data critique the healthcare system?

Tanner argues that while corporations profit from patient data, individuals struggle to access unified health records. This paradox undermines care quality while enabling unchecked commercial exploitation.

What solutions does Adam Tanner propose for medical data privacy?

The book advocates for patient ownership of health data, transparency in data sales, and stricter regulations akin to European GDPR. Tanner emphasizes empowering individuals to control how their information is shared.

How does Our Bodies, Our Data compare to Tanner’s previous work What Stays in Vegas?

While What Stays in Vegas explores broader data commercialization, Our Bodies, Our Data focuses specifically on healthcare. Both reveal systemic privacy failures, but the latter highlights life-and-death implications of medical data misuse.

What criticisms exist about Our Bodies, Our Data?

Some critics note the technical complexity of data anonymization topics, which may challenge casual readers. However, the book is widely praised for its rigor and urgency in addressing underreported privacy violations.

Why is Our Bodies, Our Data relevant in 2025?

With AI accelerating data analysis, re-identification risks have grown since the book’s publication. Its warnings remain critical as healthcare AI and personalized medicine expand reliance on patient data.

How does the book address the role of data brokers?

Tanner details how brokers like IQVIA and Symphony Health operate as middlemen, compiling dossiers on 500+ million patients globally. These firms prioritize pharmaceutical marketing over scientific research, per internal industry documents.

What ethical frameworks does Our Bodies, Our Data discuss?

The book critiques the tension between data’s potential for medical advancement and its misuse for profit. Tanner calls for ethical guidelines to ensure patient consent and equitable benefits from data use.