Consumer Health Informatics News
MIE Data Compromised
The General’s Public Protection Department in Arkansas has been receiving several emails and phone calls regarding a recent security breach, which has apparently compromised MIE (Medical Informatics Engineering) data, which includes both personal and health care information for many patients across the US.
MIE started to send out letters to the affected individuals, and this has troubled some people, who were not aware of the fact that third party companies may have access to their data, be it personal or health care related.
Since a few people have wondered if these letters are real, Attorney General Rutledge has confirmed that they are authentic, coming from the Public Protection Department indeed. The first step is to verify with the Health Department if your data has been compromised; if the answer is affirmative, you should contact your financial institution and change the account info ASAP.
For more information, you can call the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office: (800) 482-8982 or you can visit the http://arkansasag.gov/ website.
Mobile Health Apps Boost Patient Engagement
The production of Mobile Health Apps has been experiencing a solid boost within the last few years. And there’s a simple reason why this has happened: patients use them regularly, because they care about health and overall wellness.
Some of the apps help people manage their prescriptions and take their medications on time, while others can help by tracking the meals’ calories, exercise routines, and so on.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has recently released its 2015 Technology Survey, and the results are more than promising. The survey has showed that mobile health apps and other similar technologies help engage patients, while also assisting the health care providers and helping them do a better job.
The survey has used data offered by over 200 health care providers; close to 90% of them have stated that they are using mobile technologies to boost their patients’ satisfaction levels. On a side note, some hospitals have reported occasional problems with Wi-Fi Internet access, which can prevent people from making use of their health apps, but this issue can be easily solved by using inexpensive antenna cable adapters, and then finding a better Wi-Fi antenna position.
Half of the surveyed hospitals and clinics have reported that they also use health care apps internally, to better coordinate care.
Apple’s New App Framework Allows iPhones to Recruit and Track Patients
Several Silicon Valley giants want to get a slice of the big data pie, and Apple has just joined the team. The company has recently announced ResearchKit, an open source software framework that helps developers create health apps.
It is known that clinical laboratory scientists have a big stake when it comes to big data and healthcare, because medical laboratory test data needs a lot of digital storage. Due to ResearchKit, researchers can recruit people and collect data by using the iPhone and its sensors, just like Samsung does it with its S Health apps for Android, for example.
Apple has helped a few developers create ResearchKit apps that show some of its potential. Two promising titles are GlucoSuccess and mPower.