What You Need to Know About Sharing Your Medical Information

 

Do you wear an activity tracker? Use an app that records your daily steps taken and calories consumed? Post online ratings of your physician's performance, or share information about a medical condition in an online support group?

If so, you're part of a growing trend, one that pulls together large amounts of anonymous (or "de-identified") health data. Even if you don't actively use online tools or health apps, your health information—extracted from medical bills, electronic health records, apps, devices, and even your social-media interactions—may be harvested and analyzed, or "mined."

This practice can improve health care, your own and everyone else's. All that raw data, when analyzed, can help reveal which treatments work best, allow doctors and health systems to better manage your care, and unveil treatments that aren't working or could be harming people.

In one recent example of how data-mining can be helpful, researchers at Stanford University and the Houston Methodist Research Institute examined more than 16 million electronic records of 2.9 million people to probe the link between a common class of drugs used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium, Prilosec, and Prevacid) and heart attack. They found that people taking those drugs were about 16 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who did not use these drugs. The study doesn't prove that the drugs are causing heart attacks or adding to the risk of one. But because it involved so many people, the findings are certain to trigger a close examination of a possible cause-and-effect link.

But as the volume of digital medical information and the sheer number of health databases continues expanding, it's becoming clearer that there are significant risks in data collection, too. Electronically stored medical data has become a lucrative target for hackers bent on identity theft and fraud. From October 2009 though April 2015, health-care organizations and their business partners have reported 1,199 large-scale data breaches, each affecting at least 500 people. And so far, 2015 has already seen two huge breaches of health-related personal information involving the insurance companies Anthem and Premera Blue Cross.

Why would hackers be interested in health information? Some criminals use the personal information of Medicare beneficiaries, for example, to submit fake bills to the government. Hackers may also use Medicare and private insurance identity numbers to impersonate insured people and illegally access medical services or obtain prescription drugs.

Share it:
Share it:

[Social9_Share class=”s9-widget-wrapper”]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You Might Be Interested In

8 ways to make the most out of your customer data

17 Jun, 2015

  Everyone talks about the importance of big data. But many organizations, although they collect and store customer data, do …

Read more

Big data is coming for your purchase history

7 Jun, 2015

  Are you ready for a gas station to charge you more when you are running late or your tank …

Read more

Big Data and Big Oil: GEs Systems and Sensors Drive Efficiencies for BP

13 Jun, 2015

  With energy demands rising and reserves of oil and gas becoming more challenging to access, the productivity revolution promoted …

Read more

Do You Want to Share Your Story?

Bring your insights on Data, Visualization, Innovation or Business Agility to our community. Let them learn from your experience.

Get the 3 STEPS

To Drive Analytics Adoption
And manage change

3-steps-to-drive-analytics-adoption

Get Access to Event Discounts

Switch your 7wData account from Subscriber to Event Discount Member by clicking the button below and get access to event discounts. Learn & Grow together with us in a more profitable way!

Get Access to Event Discounts

Create a 7wData account and get access to event discounts. Learn & Grow together with us in a more profitable way!

Don't miss Out!

Stay in touch and receive in depth articles, guides, news & commentary of all things data.