Based on experience from the last few months, two major illnesses (one viral, one bacterial) flowed through the schools and into the parents, who came to work and subsequently took out 3/4 the workforce.
Nothing unexpected, sadly.
Walmart spotted that, and decided to see if they can predict other stuff. They now send messages to people "at risk of diabetes"
> Employee wellness firms and insurers are working with companies to mine data about the prescription drugs workers use, how they shop and even whether they vote, to predict their individual health needs and recommend treatments.
> Trying to stem rising health-care costs, some companies, including retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc., are paying firms like Castlight Healthcare Inc. to collect and crunch employee data to identify, for example, which workers are at risk for diabetes, and target them with personalized messages nudging them toward a doctor or services such as weight-loss programs.
It has some other stuff too:
> Welltok Inc., whose clients include Colorado’s state employees, has found that people who vote in midterm elections tend to be healthier than those who skip them, says Chris Coloian, the firm’s chief solutions officer.
There are plenty of risks:
> “There are enormous potential risks” in these efforts, such as the exposure of personal health data to employers or others,” says Frank Pasquale, a law professor at the University of Maryland, who studies health privacy.
I'm reminded of the supermarket loyalty card scheme that was outing pregnant women to their family by sending them vouchers for baby products (nappies etc). Some of these women were young adults living with their parents. (I can only find a link to a US story about Target: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.h... But I think it's happened in the UK with Boots too.)
side note: It's pretty hard to have a decent discussion when pay wall links hit the front page. Half of us can't even read them. There is probably a way around it but not worth my time.
It shouldn't be too surprising that the version of the article you made up in your own mind said what you expected it to say.
I couldn't get past the paywall, but let me take a rough guess