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

Are Smartphones Too Big?

According to research firm Parks Associates, one-third of Apple iPhone owners still have a model that is more than two years old, compared with 30% of Samsung phone owners. And several consumers in...

Marketing to millennials, a generation investing in home security

According to Dina Abdelrazik, a research analyst at Parks Associates, 34 per cent of millennials (defined as those born between 1982 and 1998) have a security system. Fourteen per cent have a self-...

Apple's Next? Brains Of An iPhone 6S In A 5S Body

According to research firm Parks Associates, one-third of Apple iPhone owners still have a model that is more than two years old, compared with 30% of Samsung phone owners. And several consumers in...

ONLINE VIDEO ROUND UP: Google, YouTube, Stats from Super Bowl 2017 and More

According to a new Parks Associates report, churn rates for OTT video services are 19% of U.S. broadband households, which would mean that about one in five households have cancelled an OTT service in...

‹
1
2
...
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
...
751
752
›