By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Consumer Generated Data: Your “Data Exhaust”
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Medical Records > Consumer Generated Data: Your “Data Exhaust”
eHealthMedical Records

Consumer Generated Data: Your “Data Exhaust”

David Harlow
David Harlow
Share
4 Min Read
patient data
SHARE

You might be surprised to learn how wide your digital footprint is these days.

It is worth getting up to speed on this issue by reading Jane Sarasohn-Kahn‘s latest report for the California Healthcare Foundation, entitled Here’s Looking at You: How Personal Information Is Being Tracked and Used. I enjoyed speaking with Jane about these issues as she was researching and writing the report.

Some highlights:

You might be surprised to learn how wide your digital footprint is these days.

More Read

What I Learned at the HIMSS Conference About Developments in Health IT for the Rest of 2012
3 Reasons Why Social Networking Is Not a Waste of Time for Health Professionals
Can I Have My Receipt? Transparent Payment Systems Ignite Patient Engagement
Mobile Health Around the Globe: Mobile Maps Malaria in Kenya
Why Healthcare Facilities Belong on Pinterest

It is worth getting up to speed on this issue by reading Jane Sarasohn-Kahn‘s latest report for the California Healthcare Foundation, entitled Here’s Looking at You: How Personal Information Is Being Tracked and Used. I enjoyed speaking with Jane about these issues as she was researching and writing the report.

Some highlights:

1.    Most people are unaware that they are leaving their personal data behind and that some of this information is not protected by HIPAA. Data brokers are able to build dossiers on individuals to sell to marketers, while consumers lack recourse to obtain or correct their information.

2.    Clinical researchers, health plans, and others use the information to enhance individuals’ health as well as to benefit public health. Larger and speedier clinical trials are made possible by the quantity of data available.

3.    Different types of information — such as historical claims data and consumer-generated data — can be combined and used for statistical modeling for health or financial risk-profiling. Such information is purchased by hedge funds, hospitals, large provider networks, payers, pharmaceutical companies, and others.

4.    Even when given an opportunity, most consumers are not vigilant about protecting their data; many are willing to share data to further their own health or to serve public health goals.

patient dataThe key takeaway is that the collection and collation of our data exhaust is not universally good or bad, and that it is important to be aware of how different data points may be used and combined by the original collector of the data, by data brokers, and by data brokers’ customers, so that we make informed decisions about how our data is used, by whom, and to what ends. In order to make these informed decisions, of course, the relevant information needs to be presented to us clearly and in a timely manner.

Much of the use is well-intentioned (e.g., the health care system that subscribes to data services in order to match broader data sets to patient data in order to offer better-targeted health and wellness programs) and individuals can proactively contribute their data to benefit research, though of course other uses are intended to protect the data purchaser against the risk posed by the data subject (e.g., the mortgage lender that uses health data as part of its scoring of a loan application). Today, consumers are not given sufficient information at the appropriate time to inform the decisionmaking process about whether to sign up for the customer loyalty program at a particular retailer, or to take the health insurance discount in return for enrollment in the wellness program (often of dubious value to the individual) that ends up scraping patient data.

Caveat emptor.

data / shutterstock

TAGGED:HIPAAsecurity
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Nurse Scheduling Software
Evaluating 7 Best Nurse Scheduling Software
Nursing Technology
October 28, 2025
contamination
Batch Failures And The Hidden Costs Of Contamination
Health Infographics
October 21, 2025
Medication Management For Seniors
Simplifying Medication Management For Seniors
Infographics Senior Care
October 21, 2025
Guide To Pursuing a Career in Nursing as a Foreigner in the USA
Collaboration Is the Prescription for Better Patient Care
Health
October 20, 2025

You Might also Like

eHealth

Healthcare Blogging: How to Become a Trusted Medical Source

October 20, 2021
Medical DevicesMedical InnovationsMobile HealthRemote DiagnosticsTechnology

3 Key Takeaways from 2011 mHealth Summit

December 31, 2011
healthcare cybersecurity
eHealthHealth care

7 Reasons Cybersecurity In Healthcare Is Important

January 28, 2019

Why Information Therapy Has Become Even More Important Today

October 8, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?