Abstract
The decentralisation of healthcare now extends, through the use of mobile technologies, beyond the home to people (patients) themselves. This heralds a revolution in the way people think about and use health and wellbeing services. This chapter explores the position in this changing landscape of mHealth, with particular reference to the use of apps. It gives specific attention to matters of trust, regulation and the security of personal data. These issues are highlighted as of especial importance considering the vulnerability of a high proportion of users of mHealth services.
Noted is both the rapid growth in the number of health apps publically available and the varied attention given by their creators to safeguarding personal data that may be stored or shared through their use. Trust, in relation to such matters, is suggested as being potentially increased through the use of standards that would address quality concerns. Nevertheless, there remains a responsibility for health professionals to understand and respond to the changes that are taking place – albeit in the context that they do not have ‘mastery’ over the mHealth technologies concerned. Finally, a framework is called for within which essential safeguards must be established in relation to trust in mHealth services and the security of personal data.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
The report can be accessed from http://research2guidance.com/the-5-countries-ranked-first-choice-for-starting-an-mhealth-business-in-the-eu
- 3.
The official application stores for the following smartphone platforms were searched: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Nokia/Symbian and Windows Mobile.
References
Albrecht U-V (2013) Transparency of health-apps for trust and decision making. J Med Internet Res 15(12):e277. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.2981
Aljaber T, Gordon N (2016) Evaluation of mobile health education applications for health professionals and patients. In: Multi conference on computer science and information systems: eHealth 2016, Funchal, Madeira, pp 107–114
Alkhudairi B, Pemberton L (2016). Factors affecting the acceptance of mHealth technology by Saudi diabetics and doctors. In: Multi conference on computer science and information systems: eHealth 2016, Funchal, Madeira, pp 199–202
Andoulsi I, Wilson PP (2013) Understanding liability in eHealth: towards greater clarity at European Union level. In: George C, Whitehouse D, & Duquenoy P (eds) Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin/Heidelberg. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-642-22474-4
Arie S (2015) Can mobile phones transform healthcare in low and middle income countries? BMJ 350(apr22 20):h1975–h1975. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h1975
Batchelor R, Bobrowicz A, Mackenzie R, Milne A (2012) Challenges of ethical and legal responsibilities when technologies’ uses and users change: social networking sites, decision-making capacity and dementia. Ethics Inf Technol 14(2):99–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-012-9286-x
Bennett L, Humphries R (2014) Making best use of the better care fund. Spending to save? London
BSI (2015) PAS 277:2015 health and wellness apps. Quality criteria across the life cycle. Code of practice. Retrieved from http://shop.bsigroup.com/forms/PASs/PAS-2772015/
Casilari E, Luque R, Morón M-J (2015) Analysis of android device-based solutions for fall detection. Sensors 15(8):17827–17894. https://doi.org/10.3390/s150817827
Cavoukian A, Castro D (2014) Big data and innovation, setting the record straight: de-identification does work. Ontario, Canada. Retrieved from http://www2.itif.org/2014-big-data-deidentification.pdf
Chambers R, Schmid M, Birch-jones J (2016) Digital healthcare: the essential guide. Otmoor Publishing, Oxford
Charani E, Castro-Sánchez E, Moore LS, Holmes A (2014) Do smartphone applications in healthcare require a governance and legal framework? It depends on the application! BMC Med 12(1):29. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-12-29
Chomutare T, Fernandez-Luque L, Årsand E, Hartvigsen G (2011) Features of mobile diabetes applications: review of the literature and analysis of current applications compared against evidence-based guidelines. J Med Internet Res 13(3):e65. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1874
Clarke M, Mars M (2015) An investigation into the use of 3G mobile communications to provide Telehealth Services in Rural KwaZulu-Natal. Telemed E-Health 21(2):115–119. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2014.0079
Cristensen CM, Grossmans JH, Hwang JH (2009) The Innovator’s prescription: a disruptive solution for health care. McGraw-Hill Education, New York
Cund A, Connolly P, Birch-Jones J, Kay M (2015) Self-management: keeping it simple with “Flo”. Nurs Res Rev 49. https://doi.org/10.2147/NRR.S72791
Darkins AW, Cary MA (2000) Telemedicine and telehealth: principles, policies, performances and pitfalls. SpringerReference. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/SpringerReference_84830
Degli Esposti S (2014) When big data meets dataveillance: the hidden side of analytics. Surveill Soc 12(2):209–225. Retrieved from http://library.queensu.ca/ojs/index.php/surveillance-and-society/article/view/analytics/analytic
Department of Health (2013) The mandate. A mandate from the Government to the NHS Commissioning Board: April 2013 to March 2015. London
Emmanouilidou M (2016) The status of mHealth in Europe and a review of regulative challenges. In: Multi conference on computer science and information systems: eHealth 2016. Funchal, Madeira, pp 203–206
European Commission. eHealth Action Plan 2012–2020 – Innovative healthcare for the 21st century (2012) Brussels
European Commission. COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT on the existing EU legal framework applicable to lifestyle and wellbeing apps (2014) Brussels, 10.4.2014 SWD(2014) 135 final
George C, Whitehouse D, Duquenoy P (2013). Assessing legal, ethical and governance challenges in eHealth. In: George C, Whitehouse D, Duquenoy P (eds) Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 3–22. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-642-22474-4
Gill P, Kamath A, Gill TS (2012) Distraction: an assessment of smartphone usage in health care work settings. Risk Manag Healthcare Policy 105. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S34813
Giunti G, Baum A, Giunta D, Plazzotta F, Benitez S, Gómez A, … González Bernaldo de Quiros F (2015) Serious games: a concise overview on what they are and their potential applications to healthcare. In: Sarkar IN, Georgiou A, Mazzoncini de Azevedo Marques P (eds) MEDINFO 2015: eHealth-enabled health: proceedings of the 15th world congress on health and biomedical informatics. IOS Press, Sao Paulo, pp 386–390. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-564-7-386
Golle P (2006) Revisiting the uniqueness of simple demographics in the US population. Alexandria, Virginia. Retrieved from http://crypto.stanford.edu/~pgolle/papers/census.pdf
Goodman M (2016) Future crimes: inside the digital underground and the battle for our connected world. Anchor Books, Toronto
Government Office for Science (2014) The internet of things: making the most of the second digital revolution. A report by the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser, London
Graafland M, Dankbaar M, Mert A, Lagro J, De Wit-Zuurendonk L, Schuit S et al (2014) How to systematically assess serious games applied to health care. JMIR Serious Games 2(2):e11. https://doi.org/10.2196/games.3825
Greenough J (2015) How the “Internet of Things” will impact consumers, businesses, and governments in 2016 and beyond. Retrieved January 8, 2016, from http://www.techinsider.io/how-the-internet-of-things-market-will-grow-2014-10
Haffey F, Brady RRW, Maxwell S (2013) A comparison of the reliability of smartphone apps for opioid conversion. Drug Saf 36(2):111–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40264-013-0015-0
Hilts A, Parsons C, Knockel J (2016) Every step you fake: a comparative analysis of fitness tracker privacy and security. Retrieved from https://openeffect.ca/reports/Every_Step_You_Fake.pdf
ITU (2015) m-Powering development initiative: a report by the m-Powering development initiative advisory board. Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Initiatives/m-Powering/Documents/m-PoweringDevelopmentInitiative_Report2015.pdf
Kamerow D (2013) Regulating medical apps: which ones and how much? BMJ 347(oct08 4), f6009–f6009. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f6009
Lewis TL (2013) A systematic self-certification model for mobile medical apps. J Med Internet Res 15(4):e89. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.2446
Lewis TL, Wyatt JC (2014) mHealth and mobile medical apps: a framework to assess risk and promote safer use. J Med Internet Res 16(9):e210. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3133
Lupton D (2016) Digital health technologies and digital data: new ways of monitoring, measuring and Commodifying human embodiment, health and illness. In: Xavier Olleros F, Zhegu M (eds) Edward Elgar Pub, Northampton. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004
Malvey D, Slovensky DJ (2014) mHealth: transforming healthcare. Springer, New York
Marston HR, Smith ST (2013) Understanding the digital game classification system: a review of the current classification system and its implications for use within games for health. In: Holzinger A, Ziefle M, Hitz M, Debevc M (eds) Springer, Berlin, pp 314–331
PWC (2012) Emerging mHealth: Paths for growth. Retrieved from www.pwc.com/mhealth
Research2Guidance (2015) mHealth app developer economics 2015: the current status and trends of the mHealth app market. Retrieved from http://research2guidance.com/r2g/r2g-mHealth-App-Developer-Economics-2015.pdf
Research2Guidance (2016) mHealth app developer economics 2016. Retrieved from http://research2guidance.com/r2g/r2g-mHealth-App-Developer-Economics-2016.pdf
Rosser BA, Eccleston C (2011) Smartphone applications for pain management. J Telemed Telecare 17(6):308–312. https://doi.org/10.1258/jtt.2011.101102
Schnall R, Higgins T, Brown W, Carballo-Dieguez A, Bakken S (2015) Trust, perceived risk, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness as factors related to mHealth technology use. Stud Health Technol Inform 216:467–471. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-564-7-467
Sweeney L (2000) Uniqueness of simple demographics i nthe U.S. Population. Pittsburgh
Tene O, Polonetsky J (2013) Big data for all: privacy and user control in the age of analytics. Northwestern J Technol Intellect Property 11(5): xxvii–274. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Admin/Downloads/11NwJTechIntellPropxxvii.pdf
Thompson BM, Brodsky I (2013) Should the FDA regulate mobile medical apps? BMJ 347(aug29 1), f5211–f5211. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f5211
van Velsen L, Beaujean DJ, van Gemert-Pijnen JE (2013) Why mobile health app overload drives us crazy, and how to restore the sanity. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 13(1):23. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-13-23
Vincent CJ, Niezen G, O’Kane AA, Stawarz K (2015) Can standards and regulations keep up with health technology? JMIR mHealth uHealth 3(2):e64. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.3918
WHO (2011) mHealth: new horizons for health through mobile technologies. Global Observatory for eHealth series, vol 3. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/goe/publications/goe_mhealth_web.pdf
Wolf JA, Moreau JF, Akilov O, Patton T, English JC, Ho J, Ferris LK (2013) Diagnostic inaccuracy of smartphone applications for melanoma detection. JAMA Dermatol 149(4):422. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2013.2382
World Health Organisation, & ITU (2015) BE HE@LTHY BE MOBILE: Annual Report January 2015 to December 2015. Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/ICT-Applications/eHEALTH/Be_healthy/Documents/BHBM-AnnualReport-2015.pdf
Xiaohui Y, Han H, Jiadong D, Liurong W, Cheng L, Xueli Z, … Bleiberg J (2014) mHealth in China and the United States: how mobile technology is transforming healthcare in the world’s two largest economies. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/mHealth_finalx.pdf
Yasini M, Marchand G (2015) Mobile health applications, in the absence of an authentic regulation, does the usability score correlate with a better medical reliability? MEDINFO 2015: eHealth-Enabled Health: Proceedings of the 15th world congress on health and biomedical informatics, 127–131. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-564-7-127
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lynch, J.K., Fisk, M. (2017). mHealth, Trust and the Security of Personal Data. In: Marston, H., Freeman, S., Musselwhite, C. (eds) Mobile e-Health. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60672-9_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60672-9_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60671-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60672-9
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)