As Telemedicine Grows, Who’s On Top of Medical Data Privacy?
If you’re like me, you find medical data privacy laws simultaneously annoying and reassuring. Surprisingly, the data privacy rule became a HIPAA amendment only in 2003. No so long ago, when you consider how fast technology is changing and affecting health care.
Take telemedicine, for example. According to a New York Times article, telemedicine grew almost 10 percent annually, to more than $500 million in revenue in North America in 2010. The same article mentions that a fifth of Americans live in areas where primary care doctors are scarce. That’s about 60 million people – a number that is a little mind boggling when urbanites can reach a doctor or hospital in minutes.
Audio conferencing and video conferencing are well established in health care. But technology never stands still, especially in growing markets. In telemedicine, mobile devices are the latest trend. According to a Manhattan Research study, 75 percent of U.S. physicians own some form of Apple device – iPhone, iPad or iPod. And the use of sensors is increasing as a way to transmit medical data from home-bound patients to the doctor’s office.
Patient data is flying back and forth electronically. So the big question is - who is minding the data privacy standards? Well, HIPAA, of course. And at least one industry organization, URAC, has updated and published guidelines for complying with HIPAA.
As a patient, be vigilant when it comes to protecting your medical information. The paperwork takes a little extra time, but the upside is worth it. And for medical professionals, an increase in regulations doesn’t mean the time spent managing data needs to also increase. With technology targeted to the needs of the medical industry, it’s likely that increased efficiency just might allow you to manage data records and transmission better than ever before.