The HIPAA Conundrum in the Era of Mobile Health and Communications

Wang, C. Jason; Huang, Danhong

doi:10.1001/jama.2013.219869

Cited by 37 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 0 publications

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“…In January 2013, the US Department of Health and Human Services published the Omnibus Final Rule, which modified HIPAA security standards to include any entity that "creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI." 18,19 In short, any entity, including an internet service provider, that deals with online ePHI is now held to the same HIPAA standards as medical providers. From a research perspective, all information queried and cataloged in an electronicallybased study must meet this standard.…”

Section: Lessons Learned and Future Possibilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Methods for Studying Rare Diseases

Stringer²,

et al. 2014

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For pediatric rare diseases, the number of patients available to support traditional research methods is often inadequate. However, patients who have similar diseases cluster "virtually" online via social media. This study aimed to (1) determine whether patients who have the rare diseases Fontan-associated protein losing enteropathy (PLE) and plastic bronchitis (PB) would participate in online research, and (2) explore response patterns to examine social media' s role in participation compared with other referral modalities. A novel, internetbased survey querying details of potential pathogenesis, course, and treatment of PLE and PB was created. The study was available online via web and Facebook portals for 1 year. Apart from 2 study-initiated posts on patient-run Facebook pages at the study initiation, all recruitment was driven by study respondents only. Response patterns and referral sources were tracked. A total of 671 respondents with a Fontan palliation completed a valid survey, including 76 who had PLE and 46 who had PB. Responses over time demonstrated periodic, marked increases as new online populations of Fontan patients were reached. Of the responses, 574 (86%) were from the United States and 97 (14%) were international. The leading referral sources were Facebook, internet forums, and traditional websites. Overall, social media outlets referred 84% of all responses, making it the dominant modality for recruiting the largest reported contemporary cohort of Fontan patients and patients who have PLE and PB. The methodology and response patterns from this study can be used to design research applications for other rare diseases. Pediatrics 2014;133:e1345-e1353 AUTHORS:

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Section: Lessons Learned and Future Possibilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Methods for Studying Rare Diseases

Stringer²,

et al. 2014

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“…Smartphone apps for monitoring diabetes and hypertension, in particular those that do not directly receive data from a validated blood pressure or blood glucose meter, fall into a grey area that is not adequately covered by current standards [11,17], and finding a good balance between encouraging innovation and ensuring privacy is challenging [22].…”

Section: Privacy Threats and Relevant Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Privacy, Security and Safety of Blood Pressure and Diabetes Apps

Knorr

Aspinall

Wolters

2015

ICT Systems Security and Privacy Protection

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Abstract. Mobile health (mHealth) apps are an ideal tool for monitoring and tracking long-term health conditions. In this paper, we examine whether mHealth apps succeed in ensuring the privacy, security, and safety of the health data entrusted to them. We investigate 154 apps from Android app stores using both automatic code and metadata analysis and a manual analysis of functionality and data leakage. Our study focuses on hypertension and diabetes, two common health conditions that require careful tracking of personal health data. We find that many apps do not provide privacy policies or safe communications, are implemented in an insecure fashion, fail basic input validation tests and often have overall low code quality which suggests additional security and safety risks. We conclude with recommendations for App Stores, App developers, and end users.

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“…In January 2013, Congress expanded the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to include purveyors of products that collect health data and transmit these data electronically, even if this vendor does not access electronically transmitted personal health data. 21 If a practitioner provides or recommends activity monitors that transmit patient health information to health care providers electronically, that practitioner must inform the vendor, in a written agreement, of HIPAAassociated liability. Health care providers, in particular, need to be careful about sharing a patient's personal health information through social media or electronic devices.…”

Section: Usability Privacy and Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%