Register

I agree with the Privacy Policy

In The News

Survey: Consumers Prefer Keeping Wearable Device Data from Insurers

August 17, 2015

remote health monitoring

connected health devices

fitness tracker

According to research firm Parks Associates, the majority of those surveyed indicated that they are not willing to share data collected from wearable devices, even if it meant receiving a discount on their health insurance premiums. In spite of this reluctance, these same consumers were willing to share data for the purpose of troubleshooting the devices themselves.

The results of the survey varied significantly by device. Forty-two percent of digital pedometer owners were willing to share data in order to receive a health insurance discount; for smartwatch owners the total was 35 percent; and for sleep-quality monitor owners it was 26 percent. Nevertheless, a solid majority of device owners was not willing to share data.

Consumers are justified in their concerns about health data privacy. The Los Angeles Times told in July of a security breach in October 2014 where hackers compromised UCLA Health Systems’ computer network, putting 4.5 million patients’ sensitive data at risk. What was troubling about the incident was that it took nearly seven months from the time suspicious activity was discovered in October, to May 5, which is when investigators determined the system was hacked. Additionally troubling was that the data was not even encrypted.

From the article "Survey: Consumers Prefer Keeping Wearable Device Data from Insurers" by Christopher Mohr.

Previously In The News

Netflix Is Winning Streaming’s Own ‘Squid Game’

Netflix has been criticized for not having enough enduring franchises like Marvel and Star Wars. Having those would certainly aid its efforts to expand into merchandise licensing, which is one of Walt...

19% Of Households Have vMVPDs, 49% Have Four+ Streaming Services

Virtual multichannel video providers (vMVPDs) are now in 19% of U.S. broadband households--nearly double the saturation level as recently as 2019, according to Parks Associates data. Many house...

Facebook Leads New Social Mobile Commerce Charge

Apps will become the universal means for connecting interested parties, just based on nearly 1 million apps on the Apple and Facebook platforms. Consumers under 35 are increasingly ditching their brow...

Watch, Meet Smartwatch: Fossil and Misfit Think They’re A Perfect Match

Harry Wang, director of mobile and health products research at Dallas-based Parks Associates, said the digital fitness tracker is the fastest-growing category in the connected health device market, an...

‹
1
2
...
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
›