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

Latest U.S. Smartphone Market Numbers Show Apple In The Lead, But Samsung Is Catching Up

According to the latest U.S. smartphone market share numbers from Parks Associates, Apple is still well in the lead compared to competing manufacturers, holding a beefy 40% of the smartphone market. B...

Password Sharing, Piracy Will Cost Streaming Companies $12.5B By 2024 – Report

New research by streaming tracker Parks Associates predicts the amount of revenue lost to piracy and password sharing will increase 38% to $12.5 billion over the next five years. While it is seldom...

AT&T-Time Warner Mega-Deal: Merger For New Media Era Or A Bad Remake?

Pay-TV operators are seeing a “slow erosion of the core business,” analyst at Parks Associates said. “After years of attempts to be more than just a ‘dumb pipe,’ pay-TV operators have come to reali...

Study: 32% of smart tag owners say they use them to track other people without them knowing

A new report from Parks Associates says that 32% of people who own smart tags say they use the device to track another person’s location without that person even knowing they’re being tracked. “The...

‹
1
2
...
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
...
732
733
›