Along with the enhanced healthcare landscape that digital health brings along like remote care, A.I. tools or 3D printing, there is the pressing issue of privacy. How secure is secure data? Is my health data on my smartphone/fitness device safe? Can Google, Amazon, or Facebook buy my health records from my hospital? Can I have an influence on who in the hospital can see and read my records? Today, everyone needs to understand that there is no digital health without sacrificing a part of our privacy. The advanced technologies fueling the transformation cannot improve without our data; and without it they can’t be implemented as part of regular medical care. And COVID-19 has only made things worse.

In the age of digital health, it’s not a question of whether we should do this but how we can do it in a way that protects what is valuable and vulnerable. 

Such a discussion is at the centerpiece of our new e-book “Privacy In The Digital Health Era: What You Need To Know.” In it, we describe the three cornerstones of privacy of every privacy discussion going forward: the traditional, the new and the future spheres that deal with your health data, and put forward recommendations on how you can start protecting yourself.

Privacy and security issues pertaining to the digital health era are complex and multifactorial. These aren’t likely to get any simpler as more and more advanced technologies get integrated into the field. As such, every stakeholder in the healthcare landscape must contemplate the need for change – yourself included.