Some of your favorite digital applications (apps) may ask for access to your health information. You may now choose to connect your Aspirus Health Plan health data to these apps. Aspirus Health Plan has developed an interface that will allow your apps access to certain health information when, where and in a way that you need it most. The types of data that may be shared with an app include:
Before you ask Aspirus Health Plan to share your health data with a third-party app, read the information below to help you decide which third-party apps to share your health data with.
Take an active role to protect your health information. Look for a privacy policy that clearly shows how the app will use your data. If an app doesn’t have a privacy policy that clearly answers the below questions, don’t share your health information with the app.
For a third-party app to get access to your health data, you must authorize the app. If you decide to do this for any of the apps that you use, you can do so by following these steps:
That’s it! Each app will have its own way of using the available data. It’s important that you consider how your data will be used before choosing to share it.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules, and the Patient Safety Act and Rule. You can find more information about patient rights under HIPAA and who must follow HIPAA at https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/guidance-materials-for-consumers/index.html. Generally, HIPAA applies to health care providers and health plans such as Aspirus Health Plan
Most third-party apps won’t be covered by HIPAA. Most third-party apps will instead fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the protections provided by the FTC Act. The FTC Act, among other things, protects against deceptive acts (for example, if an app shares personal data without permission, despite having a privacy policy that says it won’t do so). The FTC offers information about mobile app privacy and security for consumers at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-privacy-apps.
Aspirus Health Plan Interoperability APIs allow members to consent to have their data shared with third-party applications. We use Change HealthCare’s platform to manage application registration and connecting to member data. If you are an app developer, you can register your application today. To find out more, see Change HealthCare’s Developer site.
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