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

Roku's New Streaming Media Players Support 4K And HDR Video

However at least two research firms have reported that Roku is leading the race in the OTT market: Parks Associates said earlier this year that Roku accounted for 30 percent of streaming media players...

Roku's New $30 Express Box Is The Cheapest Roku Yet

The lower end of the streaming video market is one of the fastest growing segments for the company, Roku says, both in its line of relatively inexpensive Roku TVs and its separate streaming media devi...

Connecting the connected car to the connected home

According to the latest Parks Associates research, nearly two-thirds of US drivers want connected car functionality as standard on their next new ride and 25 per cent of consumers are already intrigue...

Competing Tech Support Startups Merge To Provide More In-home Help

The U.S. tech support sector is worth about $30 billion annually, according Reuters citing research by Parks Associates. HelloTech’s competition includes the Geek Squad, which is run by electronics re...

‹
1
2
...
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
...
751
752
›