CONTEXT: This is exactly the kind of article that the big data companies don’t want you reading. If we all start reading terms and conditions on smart products or being decreeing about how we allow our data to be harvested, then their share value plummets. Very interesting and well thought out article on your health data (yes, your data, Mike) and how it is used – so pay attention.
IMPACT: High
READ TIME: 5 mins
Quality Level Mean [1 – 10]: 9
1. “Putting aside for the moment the very real issue of illegal data breaches of medical practices or pharmacies, your health data may well be quite secure.”
2. “Amassing personal medical information has become a huge business in recent years, with medical centers and data brokers selling or sharing everything from your diagnoses to lifestyle habits and activities that could raise your risk for future diseases.”
3. “And some health insurers are piecing together pictures of us with information going back at least a decade, a tapestry woven from numerous threads like prescriptions we fill, products we buy, topics we do searches on, info we record on apps, and many others.”
4. “The fact that you’re sedentary for hours as you drive to and from work (info gleaned from tolls on your credit card) or the fact that you’ve been loading up on cupcakes instead of carrots at the grocery (tracked through shopper-loyalty cards) could indicate more about your health than even your blood work or your genetic makeup , says Eric Perakslis, Ph.D. , currently a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke University and a former chief information officer and chief scientist (informatics) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”
5. “Dore expects health data breaches to become even more widespread, as medical institutions are often lax about security.”
Source URL: https://www.prevention.com/health/a35855319/how-to-protect-personal-health-data/