Conceptual privacy framework for health information on wearable device

PLoS One. 2014 Dec 5;9(12):e114306. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114306. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Wearable health tech provides doctors with the ability to remotely supervise their patients' wellness. It also makes it much easier to authorize someone else to take appropriate actions to ensure the person's wellness than ever before. Information Technology may soon change the way medicine is practiced, improving the performance, while reducing the price of healthcare. We analyzed the secrecy demands of wearable devices, including Smartphone, smart watch and their computing techniques, that can soon change the way healthcare is provided. However, before this is adopted in practice, all devices must be equipped with sufficient privacy capabilities related to healthcare service. In this paper, we formulated a new improved conceptual framework for wearable healthcare systems. This framework consists of ten principles and nine checklists, capable of providing complete privacy protection package to wearable device owners. We constructed this framework based on the analysis of existing mobile technology, the results of which are combined with the existing security standards. The approach also incorporates the market share percentage level of every app and its respective OS. This framework is evaluated based on the stringent CIA and HIPAA principles for information security. This evaluation is followed by testing the capability to revoke rights of subjects to access objects and ability to determine the set of available permissions for a particular subject for all models Finally, as the last step, we examine the complexity of the required initial setup.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Confidentiality*
  • Humans
  • Mobile Applications*
  • Monitoring, Physiologic* / instrumentation
  • Monitoring, Physiologic* / methods
  • Smartphone*
  • Wireless Technology*

Grants and funding

This research was supported by The National University of Malaysia (UKM) grant ERGS/1/2013/ICT04/UKM/01/1. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.