Client-Focused Security Assessment of mHealth Apps and Recommended Practices to Prevent or Mitigate Transport Security Issues

Müthing, Jannis; Jäschke, Thomas; Friedrich, Christoph M.

doi:10.2196/mhealth.7791

Cited by 36 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Although most apps did not require registration, many apps did, and they asked patients to provide self-management information without an adequate user privacy protection policy. Studies have demonstrated that many mobile medical apps are insufficiently safe [ 50 , 51 ]. Therefore, providing an adequate privacy protection policy and app security measures is critical for safeguarding users.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Health to Maintain Continuity of Patient-Centered Care for Chronic Kidney Disease: Content Analysis of Apps

Lee¹,

Cui²,

Tu³

et al. 2018

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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BackgroundChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health problem with a high economic burden, which is particularly prevalent in Taiwan. Mobile health apps have been widely used to maintain continuity of patient care for various chronic diseases. To slow the progression of CKD, continuity of care is vital for patients’ self-management and cooperation with health care professionals. However, the literature provides a limited understanding of the use of mobile health apps to maintain continuity of patient-centered care for CKD.ObjectiveThis study identified apps related to the continuity of patient-centered care for CKD on the App Store, Google Play, and 360 Mobile Assistant, and explored the information and frequency of changes in these apps available to the public on different platforms. App functionalities, like patient self-management and patient management support for health care professionals, were also examined.MethodsWe used the CKD-related keywords “kidney,” “renal,” “nephro,” “chronic kidney disease,” “CKD,” and “kidney disease” in traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, and English to search 3 app platforms: App Store, Google Play, and 360 Mobile Assistant. A total of 2 reviewers reached consensus on coding guidelines and coded the contents and functionalities of the apps through content analysis. After coding, Microsoft Office Excel 2016 was used to calculate Cohen kappa coefficients and analyze the contents and functionalities of the apps.ResultsA total of 177 apps related to patient-centered care for CKD in any language were included. On the basis of their functionality and content, 67 apps were recommended for patients. Among them, the most common functionalities were CKD information and CKD self-management (38/67, 57%), e-consultation (17/67, 25%), CKD nutrition education (16/67, 24%), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculators (13/67, 19%). In addition, 67 apps were recommended for health care professionals. The most common functionalities of these apps were comprehensive clinical calculators (including eGFR; 30/67; 45%), CKD medical professional information (16/67, 24%), stand-alone eGFR calculators (14/67, 21%), and CKD clinical decision support (14/67, 21%). A total of 43 apps with single- or multiple-indicator calculators were found to be suitable for health care professionals and patients. The aspects of patient care apps intended to support self-management of CKD patients were encouraging patients to actively participate in health care (92/110, 83.6%), recognizing and effectively responding to symptoms (56/110, 50.9%), and disease-specific knowledge (53/110, 48.2%). Only 13 apps contained consulting management functions, patient management functions or teleconsultation functions designed to support health care professionals in CKD patient management.ConclusionsThis study revealed that the continuity of patient-centered care for CKD provided by mobile health apps is inadequate for both CKD self-management by patients and patient care support for health care professionals. Mo...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Health to Maintain Continuity of Patient-Centered Care for Chronic Kidney Disease: Content Analysis of Apps

Lee¹,

Cui²,

Tu³

et al. 2018

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…But mobile apps not only help the adherence to treatment; the traceability also contributes to minimizing security issues related to custody of the data and controlling the integrity of the medicine itself [ 25 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of the General Process of Parenteral Nutrition Using mHealth Technologies: Evaluation and Validation Study

Peris¹,

Alonso-Rorís²,

Santos-Gago³

et al. 2018

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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BackgroundAny system applied to the control of parenteral nutrition (PN) ought to prove that the process meets the established requirements and include a repository of records to allow evaluation of the information about PN processes at any time.ObjectiveThe goal of the research was to evaluate the mobile health (mHealth) app and validate its effectiveness in monitoring the management of the PN process.MethodsWe studied the evaluation and validation of the general process of PN using an mHealth app. The units of analysis were the PN bags prepared and administered at the Son Espases University Hospital, Palma, Spain, from June 1 to September 6, 2016. For the evaluation of the app, we used the Poststudy System Usability Questionnaire and subsequent analysis with the Cronbach alpha coefficient. Validation was performed by checking the compliance of control for all operations on each of the stages (validation and transcription of the prescription, preparation, conservation, and administration) and by monitoring the operative control points and critical control points.ResultsThe results obtained from 387 bags were analyzed, with 30 interruptions of administration. The fulfillment of stages was 100%, including noncritical nonconformities in the storage control. The average deviation in the weight of the bags was less than 5%, and the infusion time did not present deviations greater than 1 hour.ConclusionsThe developed app successfully passed the evaluation and validation tests and was implemented to perform the monitoring procedures for the overall PN process. A new mobile solution to manage the quality and traceability of sensitive medicines such as blood-derivative drugs and hazardous drugs derived from this project is currently being deployed.

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“…That same study showed that 40% of the apps failed to protect the integrity of the data they displayed [91]. Other authors also expressed concerns that data integrity could be compromised as a result of attacks during transmission over public networks or simply due to immature sensor-based technology [74,75,78,80,92].…”

Section: Themes Data Transmission and Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Developments in Privacy and Data Ownership in Mobile Health Technologies, 2016-2019

Galvin

DeMuro²

2020

Yearb Med Inform

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Objectives: To survey international regulatory frameworks that serve to protect privacy of personal data as a human right as well as to review the literature regarding privacy protections and data ownership in mobile health (mHealth) technologies between January 1, 2016 and June 1, 2019 in order to identify common themes. Methods: We performed a review of relevant literature available in English published between January 1, 2016 and June 1, 2019 from databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, as well as relevant legislative background material. Articles out of scope (as detailed below) were eliminated. We categorized the remaining pool of articles and discrete themes were identified, specifically: concerns around data transmission and storage, including data ownership and the ability to re-identify previously de-identified data; issues with user consent (including the availability of appropriate privacy policies) and access control; and the changing culture and variable global attitudes toward privacy of health data. Results: Recent literature demonstrates that the security of mHealth data storage and transmission remains of wide concern, and aggregated data that were previously considered “de-identified” have now been demonstrated to be re-identifiable. Consumer-informed consent may be lacking with regard to mHealth applications due to the absence of a privacy policy and/or to text that is too complex and lengthy for most users to comprehend. The literature surveyed emphasizes improved access control strategies. This survey also illustrates a wide variety of global user perceptions regarding health data privacy. Conclusion: The international regulatory framework that serves to protect privacy of personal data as a human right is diverse. Given the challenges legislators face to keep up with rapidly advancing technology, we introduce the concept of a “healthcare fiduciary” to serve the best interest of data subjects in the current environment.

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Client-Focused Security Assessment of mHealth Apps and Recommended Practices to Prevent or Mitigate Transport Security Issues

Cited by 36 publications

References 43 publications

Mobile Health to Maintain Continuity of Patient-Centered Care for Chronic Kidney Disease: Content Analysis of Apps

Mobile Health to Maintain Continuity of Patient-Centered Care for Chronic Kidney Disease: Content Analysis of Apps

Management of the General Process of Parenteral Nutrition Using mHealth Technologies: Evaluation and Validation Study

Developments in Privacy and Data Ownership in Mobile Health Technologies, 2016-2019

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