Study overview
Privacy Policies of Android Diabetes Apps and Sharing of Health Information, JAMA. 2016;315(10):1051-1052. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.19426, March 8, 2016.
This march 2016 study examines the privacy risks and the relationship between privacy disclosures and practices of health apps.
Mobile health apps can help individuals manage chronic health conditions. One-fifth of smartphone owners had health apps in 2012, and 7% of primary care physicians recommended a health app. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the prescription of some apps.
Health Apps May Share Your Data, Study Finds, livescience, March 08, 2016.
Health apps can transmit sensitive medical data, including disease status and medication compliance. Privacy risks and the relationship between privacy disclosures and practices of health apps are understudied.
Once sensitive medical information is leaked, then the consumer has totally lost control over it and they can never take it back
said Sarah Blenner, a co-author of the study.