This paper presents a case study on security and privacy implications on the design of a mobile application in digital health, the DeStress Assistant (DeSA) app, which utilizes sensing technologies and capabilities of the Internet of Things (IoT). An analysis of the applicable legislative framework is provided and selected challenges encountered during the app design are discussed, which are related with the practical implications of provisions of the international and national legislation for software applications in general as well as medical devices and handling of sensitive data in particular. We provide insights into design choices, including different possible scenarios for classification of a mobile app as a medical device and the pertaining legal risks the app developer is faced with as a consequence of possible legal obligations, and different possibilities of specifying the intended use. Also, we propose two designs of a mechanism that enables secure sharing of the patient's health-related observations from the DeSA app with a medical professional within a treatment context. The first mechanism provides secure submission of health-related observations into a hospital information system, whereas the second mechanism enables secure short-term sharing of observations without storage.

Resettled immigrants and refugees in the US do not get appropriate healthcare attention because of organizational barriers, cultural differences, poor explanation of health problems and their geographical distribution in the country. These problems often lead to inappropriate diagnoses and inappropriate treatment. Healthcare providers also face significant challenges partly due to the diversity of languages, cultures, and protocols of immigrants and refugees, and partly due to their inexperience in handling diseases not found among the American population.In response to these issues, we have developed The Refugee Health Information Network (RHIN™) a web-based information management system that can improve access to medical and public health information related to refugees and immigrants and to facilitate the exchange of this information between distributed health departments, health professionals and service providers in five states