Mobile apps and privacy

DOCTORS using clinical software on their smart phones or tablet computers may be inadvertently putting patient confidentiality at risk, according to a privacy expert. Dr Juanita Fernando (PhD), part of the mobile health research group at Monash University, said she had been contacted by several patients who had suffered “direct dire consequences” as a result of privacy breaches after doctors used clinical apps on their mobile devices. She cited the case of a doctor who had updated and uploaded a patient record at home using a clinical app. This was then cached by a metasearch engine, effectively publishing the data in the public domain.
Writing in the MJA, Dr Fernando said there was a “legal vacuum” in guidelines governing smartphone and tablet use.
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