Hi, I'm Orman Alney, host of To the Point, produced at the non-profit public radio station, KCRW.

We're going to start this podcast in just a few seconds. First, though, I just want to ask you for a little

support, because in order to be comprehensive, we have to talk to people all over the world. That's

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You can donate $10 by texting KCRW to 20222.

Do that, if you will.

Let's now start the show.

And thanks.

From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Big data for health care.

What about patient privacy?

Hello again, I'm Armin Alney, and this is To the Poet from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

The Affordable Care Act promotes the digitization of millions of medical records to measure outcomes and contain costs.

Big data may also help doctors better understand many diseases, who's most likely to get them,

what the best treatments might be.

It also makes the most intimate kind of personal information available to the government,

insurance, and drug companies, even prospective employers.

Should patients be able to say yes or no?

We'll look at the pros and cons.

Today's talking point, the nations of Africa race to catch up in space.

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