Even before today's big announcement from Apple and Google, it was clear that phone-based contact tracking was going to be an important weapon in the war against COVID-19. But might that weapon be a double-edged sword? In today's HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock is joined by the MobiHealthNews team – Managing Editor Laura Lovett and Associate Editor Dave Muoio – to discuss the various companies,...
Google is taking its coronavirus support efforts one step further with the launch of its COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports web tool late last week.
Similar to the way Google Maps displays whether certain businesses or public places are busy at certain times of day, the resource aggregates anonymized location tracking data from mobile devices to identify large-scale behavior trends.
The end...
In mid-January an error in the Walgreens app led to the leak of customers' secure messages. Specifically, the error allowed customers to see each other's information, including personal data such as names and prescription drug information.
The company announced the breach late last week, assuring customers that following the breach it disabled the message viewing feature in the app “to prevent...
About the author: Anish Sebastian co-founded Babyscripts in 2013, which has partnered with dozens of health systems for its data-centric model in prenatal care. As the CEO of the startup, Anish has focused his efforts on product and software development, as well as evidence-based validation of their product. Prior to this, he founded a research analytics startup and served as a senior tech...
While voice has been touted as an emerging technology with the ability to lower the bar to entry, industry players are now starting to warn of privacy gaps. Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices are now becoming a frequent household item, used for everything from ordering a new wardrobe to helping with homework.
But when used in the medical industry, the technology needs to be administered...
Increasingly, Amazon Alexa and Siri are no longer just a tool for ordering pizza. Voice technology has found its way into healthcare, and now one of the most established industries in the medical world is starting to explore the possibilities of voice: pharma.
“I think voice should be part of a robust ecosystem in which pharma provides treatment information … and things like that,” Kay Bayne,...
Google and the University of Chicago Medical Center are being sued for violating patients' privacy following a data-sharing partnership that the two parties inked two years ago.
A new class action lawsuit, which was first reported on by the New York Times, accuses the hospital system of sharing data with the tech conglomerate that could be identifiable, namely doctor’s notes and the time frame...
When it comes to privacy and data transparency, smoking cessation and depression apps fall short, according to a new study published in JAMA this morning. The study, which zeroed in on 36 apps, found that 33 of those apps transmitted data to a third party. However, 17 of those apps either “lacked a privacy policy, failed to disclose the transmission policy in text or said that the transmission...
Xcertia, a standards and guidelines body for mobile apps, today announced the draft release of its updated Privacy and Security Guidelines, a document consisting of practical and descriptive advice for health app designers.
The group has opened the draft up for comment from stakeholders and industry members for the next 45 days, Chuck Parker, managing director at Xcertia, said here at the...
Screensnaps of Whats App, iMessage and Facebook Messenger.
A majority of UK National Health Service trusts have no official policies to discourage the use of consumer messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger among clinicians and staff, according to a new CommonTime report.
The study found that despite the clear privacy risks posed by those apps, many trusts also don't provide other more secure alternatives for staff to use.
This is just...
