The rise in health care and technology companies developing apps for US consumers has fuelled privacy concerns. Apple, Cigna, UnitedHealth and other firms have created online tools for users to gather their personal health data, which is currently stored across a variety of medical and insurance systems. In the UK, there are plans by NHS England to introduce an app that will allow patients to access data from all healthcare providers including GPs, dentists, physiotherapists and radiologists.
The rise in health care and technology companies developing apps for US consumers has fuelled privacy concerns. Apple, Cigna, UnitedHealth and other firms have created online tools for users to gather their personal health data, which is currently stored across a variety of medical and insurance systems. But while the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects patient information held by health care providers, it does not cover data held by other kinds of organisation, such as tech companies who make wearables.