eMM in the Digital

Health Environment –

Mobile Apps & PrivacyVANESSA HALTER

Health Privacy Specialist

MedicineList+ by NPS MedicineWise

Benefits for patients and community

• Improve health, wellness and independence

e.g. adhering to medication regimes

• Empower patients to make better choices

• Better prevention of chronic disease (?)

• Healthier society = reducing costs of care =

less impact on taxpayer pockets (?)

Benefits for healthcare professionals

• Improved patient outcomes:

• Increased access to point-of-care tools: diagnosis aids,

drug references, guidelines

• Supporting better clinical decision making

• Improve relationship with patients, particularly those with

chronic diseases

• Reduction in medical negligence claims (?)

Privacy in mental health apps

Finding peace of mind: Navigating the marketplace of mental health apps

Authored by Grundy, Q., Parker, L., Mintzes, B., Gillies, D., Jureidini, J., Raven, M., & Bero, L.

Publishment forthcoming (Note: developer tool being developed and will be published by ACCAN)

• Nearly half of the sampled apps did not have a privacy

policy (none of the 4 apps published by Government)

• On average, policies were just over 1000 words long

• Only one app’s privacy policy met all of the requirements

set out in the Privacy Act

• Apps requested, on average, 2 ‘dangerous permissions’

We look after your privacy – what if the app

told you the following…

We only store information in Australia

We never share your data with third parties

We never use your data for marketing or commercial reasons

If you ‘break up’ with us, we will delete all your data

We use bank-strength security protocols to protect your

information

We abide by all Australian privacy legislation

We look after your patient’s privacy - – what

if the app told you the following…

We only store information in Australia

We never share your data with third parties

We never use your data for marketing or commercial reasons

If you ‘break up’ with us, we will delete all your data

We use bank-strength security protocols to protect your information

We abide by all Australian privacy legislation

We help healthcare providers uphold their duty of confidentiality and patient privacy

Final thoughts…

• Benefits for patients, carers, the community and

healthcare professionals can be realised from use of

mobile apps

• Privacy can be the enabler of trust in a mobile app

• Apps that are up front and transparent on privacy controls

are likely to generate more user trust

Thank you