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Organ Donors? Lawmaker Wants Data Donors

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A South Florida lawmaker wants patients to be able to donate their healthcare data in the same way they donate their organs. Republican Senator Jeff Brandes of St Petersburg is passionate about innovation, and champions self-driving cars and drone technology. Now he’s turning his sights on electronic health records.

“Today you can donate your body to science, you can donate your organs to other folks. We think we should be able to donate your data. Obviously it’s a lot lower cost to individuals, and probably of a lot less concern for folks to be able to donate their healthcare records after they die. But we think this is going to have massive implications,” Brandes said.

Brandes hopes to establish a central database of anonymous healthcare data, which he says could lead to life-saving breakthroughs.

As a Tallahassee native, Kate Payne grew up listening to WFSU. She loves being part of a station that had such an impact on her. Kate is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. With a background in documentary and narrative filmmaking, Kate has a broad range of multimedia experience. When she’s not working, you can find her rock climbing, cooking or hanging out with her cat.