Losing your privacy through medical data smart phone apps

As a Wall Street Journal reader I am reminded almost daily of the loss of privacy linked to the use of computers, smart phones, and other technology. Facebook is one of the worst offenders.
But now Natasha Singer, writing in The New York Times reveals the perils of smart phone apps for medical data.

"Americans may soon be able to get their medical records through smartphone apps as easily as they order takeout food from Seamless or catch a ride from Lyft."

"But prominent medical organizations are warning that patient data-sharing with apps could facilitate invasions of privacy — and they are fighting the change."

The American Medical Association is warning that patients "who authorized consumer apps to retrieve their medical records could open themselves up to serious data abuses. Federal privacy protections, which limit how health providers and insurers may use and share medical records, no longer apply once patients transfer their data to consumer apps."

So think twice before signing up to get your medical info on your smart phone.