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: What Does Screening Your Phone Records Have to Do With Health Care?
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 > What Does Screening Your Phone Records Have to Do With Health Care?
eHealthMedical RecordsMobile Health

What Does Screening Your Phone Records Have to Do With Health Care?

JosephKvedar
JosephKvedar
Share
7 Min Read
transparency health records
SHARE

transparency health recordsI have been following the news about the National Security Agency (NSA) access to our phone records with great interest.  If we as a society don’t sort some of this out, we’ll see a repeat in the health sector a few years from now.

transparency health recordsI have been following the news about the National Security Agency (NSA) access to our phone records with great interest.  If we as a society don’t sort some of this out, we’ll see a repeat in the health sector a few years from now.

These discussions seem to pivot on issues of population-level safety vs. personal liberty, and on trust vs. suspicion re: how much of the process is driven by machine learning vs. individuals.

It is interesting that the story about the scanning of phone records came out close to reports about the IRS targeting certain non-profits.  The two are quite incendiary when it comes to paranoia around privacy.

More Read

Scientists without Borders and “Crowdsourcing for Health”
GNAX Health Named by VMware as First vCloud® Powered Service Provider in Healthcare IT
Your Online Reputation
Obama’s Precision Healthcare Initiative Ushers in a New Age of Medical Marketing
It’s Time to Be Social, Doc – for Good Health of Your Practice

As a Boston area resident, I was also quite puzzled by criticisms that our surveillance processes were not good enough to prevent the marathon bombings.  I have to wonder if these same folks were then chafing at the possibility of having their own phone records scanned. What is good for the prospective terrorist is bad for the average citizen, I guess.  This logic assumes we know who all of those prospective terrorists are and thus we should just keep track of them and leave Joe Average alone.  Can it get any more naive than that?

To the government’s credit, they have sought to clarify how the phone records scanning program is automated and that this sort of thing has been going on for years.  Those making noise seem to think that some group of unauthorized employees is pouring over our phone records, one by one, to pick out embarrassing or incriminating data about us.  Seems far-fetched to me, but I can see some of this fear after the IRS debacle.

The best stories on this, though, have contrasted the issue I raised above – population-level safety vs. individual liberty.  The NSA has pointed out in a number of places how many terrorist attacks were thwarted because they had access to these phone records.  This seems like a good thing to me.  It makes me want to ask, “If you aren’t participating in criminal activities why do you care so much that the government has access to these records?”  It’s a rhetorical question, but worth pondering at some level.

So how does this relate to health and connected health?  It is parallel in many ways to the conversation playing out right now.  At the Center for Connected Health, one of our programs, called Diabetes Connect, allows patients with diabetes to automatically upload their glucose readings and get periodic feedback from a diabetes nurse educator.  Some patients like the feedback loop and, as a population, they all do better.  However, some stop using the system entirely.  They say things like, “I don’t want my doctor to know that my sugars are running high” or “it reminds me that I’m sick so I’m not doing it anymore.”

This psychology is, to me, reminiscent of the individual who says “protect my privacy at all costs, even if we might miss a few terrorist bombings.”

Connected health and its intendant feedback loops create the opportunity for goal setting and achievement for the motivated individual, but they also create an accountability that can make some people uneasy.  By way of analogy, I don’t mind the NSA reviewing my phone records because I have nothing to hide.

The direction in which our Center is headed involves capturing lots of data about you (not unlike the government scanning your phone records) and using that data to generate customized, motivational messages to keep you engaged in improving your health.

The logical conclusion may be scary to some.  When we cross the threshold to mobile purchasing, for instance, we’ll know if you bought a Dunkin’ Donuts breakfast sandwich for breakfast and a big slice of cheesecake for lunch.  If you have diabetes, these choices might have dire downstream consequences.  Is this level of monitoring too invasive? Remember, society has to pay the cost of your diabetic retinopathy and your chronic renal failure if you don’t care for your diabetes.  This is why I say the analogy of tension between population-level safety and individual liberty is a ripe one.

In health care, I can envision having a system where one trades privacy for premium fees.  You can keep all of your data and behaviors private if you pay a higher insurance premium.  There are some precedents for this in the auto industry.  I don’t know what the answer is with respect to phone surveillance and terrorism.

As a society, we need to be better educated as to how data can be used to our advantage, whether it be our phone records to identify potential crime or our health data to prevent disease like hypertension or diabetes.  In the case of health care, it’s not just about doctors or insurers ‘spying’ on you.  Our own personal health data can be a treasure trove of information that can help us all live healthier, better lives.

How do you see it?

(Privacy and healthcare / shutterstock)

TAGGED:dataPrivacy
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

WIIFM political talk
BusinessHospital AdministrationSocial Media

Hillary Clinton’s Classic Mistake: A Marketing Lesson for Doctors and Hospitals

February 16, 2016
WEC healthcare
eHealthMedical InnovationsMobile HealthNews

WEF’s Top 10 Innovations for 2014: How May These Impact the Future of Healthcare?

March 27, 2014

A Health Care Professional’s Social Media Strategy…. The Basics

October 17, 2011
FDA logo
eHealth

FDA Letter Mentions Internal Site Search

February 22, 2013
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?