At the moment, people have become more concerned about their health. They are searching for ways to improve control over their health, and find services that will help with this. There are many applications to help the patient monitor their condition. However, people are concerned that data may be leaked from the application service. The question of personal data privacy is a significant concern for users of the service.
Typically, conventional clinics focus on the standard treatment of diseases. However, the gap between the needs of the modern population and the services offered by clinics is growing. It is essential to pay attention to the meaning “of integrating patient-centered decision-making methods for multiple problems, with a focus on precision medicine” (Lee et al., 2020, para. 1). Personal Health Record (PHR) is a system that stores and exchanges confidential data for each user.
I believe that PHR is a highly privileged system that can help people and save their lives. This system includes the most necessary data: blood group, list of human diseases, allergens, and medications that the patient takes. A distinctive feature of such applications is that they can be accessed from any device around the world. The application tracks the condition of the patient himself and his family members, which is vital in modern technological society. Nowadays, it is still hard “to accumulate lifestyle data such as daily dietary intake, sleep log, and stress in a longitudinal record” (Ryu et al., 2017, para. 3). However, the interface is constantly improving, and the applications are tailored to the user.
An example of a confidential system for storing and exchanging patient health data is HealthSpek. The application is a free database for monitoring the state and health of the user. HealthSpek provides the essential services for patients, the most important are the Carry Card and vital signs tracking. In my opinion, the application is a balance between the services provided and the patients’ requests. I did not find those services that are of minimal importance to the patient, as HealthSpek offers only the essentials.
Additionally, I would include this application in the healthcare system. This would make it easier to collect and report health data from people around the world. Such applications could facilitate the collection of statistics as “the health care delivery system is massive” (Shi, 2022, p. 2). Based on the free access data provided by patients (at their request), it would be more convenient to have an idea of the diseases of people of different age groups.
However, many people are afraid of massive personal information leakage from the application. This is the main problem with applications such as HealthSpek and others. People know that “data breaches are a serious concern for organizations of all sizes and across different industries” (D’Arcy et al., 2020, p. 1). This is the reason why many netizens avoid installing such applications, despite their convenience. Any system that manages such records (storage and exchange) must ensure that all exchanges of medical records are strictly confidential and comply with all standards.
For me, the most crucial question in the application is security and privacy. So my first step in deciding to install HealthSpek is to review the app’s privacy policy carefully. If it meets my expectations, the application will be installed. Thus, in my opinion, the HealthSpek app is valuable and necessary in today’s society. Despite the concern of many people about data breaches, the application provides high privacy for each user.
References
D’Arcy, J., Adjerid, I., Angst, C. M. & Glavas, A. (2020). Too good to be true: Firm social performance and the risk of data breach. Information Systems Research. 1-24.
Ryu, B., Kim, N., Heo, E., Yoo S, Lee, K., Hwang, H., Kim, J., Kim, Y., Lee, J., & Jung, S.Y. (2020). Impact of an electronic health record-integrated personal health record on patient participation in health care: Development and randomized controlled trial of MyHealthKeeper. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(12). 401.
Lee, H., Kung, H., Udayasankaran, J.G., Kijsanayotin, B., Marcelo, B. A., Chao, L.R., & Hsu, C. (2020). An architecture and management platform for blockchain-based personal health record exchange: Development and Usability Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(6). 16-19.
Shi, L.& Singh, D.A. (2021). Delivering healthcare in America: a systems approach (7th ed). Jones and Bartlett Learning.