This appeared a few hours ago:
Medical appointment booking app HealthEngine sharing clients' personal information with lawyers
By Pat McGrath, ABC Investigations
June 25, 2018
Australia's biggest online doctor's appointment booking service, HealthEngine, has funnelled hundreds of users' private medical information to law firms seeking clients for personal injury claims.
Key points:
- HealthEngine has boasted to advertisers it can tailor advertising to patients' symptoms
- The Australian startup says it only shares information with users' consent
- But if a patient wants to use the app, there is no opportunity to opt-out of the fine print about giving information to third parties
The Perth-based startup, which is part-owned by Telstra and SevenWest Media and boasts 1.5 million monthly and 15 million annual users, has also been touting access to patients' medical conditions and symptoms for targeted advertising campaigns.
The ABC has obtained secret documents from plaintiff law giant Slater and Gordon that reveal HealthEngine was passing on a daily list of prospective clients to the firm, based on their personal medical information, as part of a "referral partnership pilot" last year.
HealthEngine asks users to include details of their symptoms and medical conditions, including whether they have suffered a workplace injury or been in a traffic accident, as part of the process of booking appointments with GPs, dentists, physiotherapists, optometrists and other medical practitioners.
The documents reveal HealthEngine passed on details of an average of 200 clients a month to Slater and Gordon between March and August last year.
Lots more here:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-25/healthengine-sharing-patients-information-with-lawyers/9894114
If you know more here you go:
Do you know more about this story? Email investigations@abc.net.au
There is some commentary here:
HealthEngine should be ashamed and we, its users, must hold it accountable
First editing patient feedback and now selling private information to legal firms - these are shocking breaches of integrity
Mon 25 Jun 2018 11.35 AEST Last modified on Mon 25 Jun 2018 11.47 AEST
Although family doctors are an anchor for many patients, my patient had a terrible experience with his when he was diagnosed with advanced cancer. The doctor and the patient were of a similar age, both with young children. The doctor was said to be completely unsettled by his patient’s predicament. “His body language was uncomfortable, and he finally mumbled that I was going to die anyway and there was nothing they could do. I felt shattered.” The patient and his wife went home to make funeral arrangements until a nurse convinced him to at least attend his oncology appointment.
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