Mobile health apps (MHAs) and medical apps (MAs) are becoming
increasingly popular as digital interventions in a wide range of health-
related applications in almost all sectors of healthcare. The surge in
demand for digital medical solutions has been accelerated by the
need for new diagnostic and therapeutic methods in the current
coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This also applies to clinical
practice in Gastroenterology, which has, in many respects, undergone
a recent digital transformation with numerous consequences that will
impact patients and health care professionals in the near future.
MHAs and MAs are considered to have great potential, especially for
chronic diseases, as they can support the self-management of
patients in many ways. Despite the great potential associated with
the application of MHAs and MAs in Gastroenterology and health
care in general, there are numerous challenges to be met in the
future, including both the ethical and legal aspects of applying this
technology. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the
current status of MHA and MA use in the field of Gastroenterology,
describe the future perspectives in this field and point out some of
the challenges that need to be addressed.
Anthem, the second largest health insurance company in the U.S.,
announced a massive data breach on Feb. 5. An estimated 80 million
customers and employees of multiple health plans were affected, the
Wall Street Journal reported.
In addition to big name breaches over the past year including
Target,Home Depot, and JP Morgan, almost half of U.S. companies
have experienced a security breach of some sort in the past year,
according to a report published by the Ponemon Institute in
September 2014. What’s more, a report from the Identity Theft
Resource Center found a record number of security attacks in the
U.S. in 2014.
The report also found that health and medical companies are
becoming bigger targets, accounting for 42.5 percent of reported
breaches last year. And in healthcare attacks, the stakes are higher.
Reference
WIRED. (2022).The Root of the Problem: How to Prevent Security
Breaches. https://www.wired.com/insights/2015/02/the-root-of-
the-security-problem/
Kernebeck, S., Busse, T. S., Böttcher, M. D., Weitz, J., Ehlers, J., &
Bork, U. (2020). Impact of mobile health and medical applications on
clinical practice in gastroenterology. World journal of gastroenterology,
26(29), 4182–4197. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v26.i29.4182
