Senate Republicans introduced a new bill during the tail end of last week that seeks to increase transparency and ownership of personal health, geolocation, proximity and other related data collected by digital devices or systems during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The so-called COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act was introduced by Sen. Roger Wicker R-Miss.; Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.;...
SWISS ARMY TESTS TRACING APP
A COVID-19 contact tracing app is being trialed by 100 soldiers at the Chamblon army base near Lausanne, Switzerland. The Bluetooth-enabled app logs if users have spent more than 15 minutes within two metres of another user. Then, when one uploads a positive test result for COVID-19, the system and alerts users to the contact. In order to test its efficacy, the...
Pharmaceutical-cost-transparency startup GoodRx is now looking to the testing space with the launch of its new lab market place. Customers can now to do a price comparison across tests that cover everything from STI to COVID-19 testing and pregnancy too celiac.
So far, the company has teamed up with 10 lab-testing providers. Once a customer has entered the condition they would like to be tested...
Fitbit announced this morning the launch of a new atrial fibrillation research study aiming to enroll hundreds of thousands of fitness-tracker and smartwatch owners.
Called the Fitbit Heart Study, it will passively and continuously monitor wearers' heart rates using the devices' photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors. A proprietary algorithm will interpret these readings and flag potential...
Cognitant Group has launched Healthinote, an app that provides patients with up-to-date, verified healthcare information to help them understand their conditions and treatment options better, and counters the potential impact of "fake news" on their decisions and outcomes.
With a search facility, a favourite page for users to save personalised information and a share function, the app also uses...
An antibacterial and antiviral payment card, considered the first of its kind in the world, has been launched by a member-only luxury lifestyle management group. Insignia’s “clean payment” card consists of a special layered metal coating that prevents pathogens from living on its surface.
Tests on the materials used demonstrated that the coating reportedly killed up to 99.9% of germs, with the “...
Heal, the maker of an app for booking and processing device-driven physician house calls and other virtual care services, announced today that is has launched a new telepsychology service for California residents.
Heal Teletherapy will connect Heal's users to a licensed clinical psychologist via telehealth video chat. The virtual visits will cost $69 per 20 minutes, according to the company. ...
This month has kicked off with a slew of announcements about tracing efforts. From India’s new policy requiring all workers to download its government app to China’s new fever-senseing glasses, governments are looking for ways to keep tabs on the virus.
As of today, all Indian employers are responsible for making sure their domestic employees – in both the public and private sector, download a...
A global study from French digital health company Withings has analysed the physical activity, weight, sleep patterns, exercise rituals, temperature, night-time breathing disturbances and heart rate irregularities of its users during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Lockdown Lowdown study compares the behaviour of users in countries including the UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the US and China,...
Fitness and sleep-tracking smart-ring-maker Motiv has been acquired by Proxy, a company specializing in digital-identity security. The companies announced the purchase in accompanying blog posts, and did not share the terms of the deal.
Proxy CEO Denis Mars wrote that his company has hired "a majority" of Motiv's employees, and will be shifting the focus of Motiv's consumer platform away from...
