Connected Health Platforms Face Major Opportunity in 2016 to Overcome Privacy Concerns and Attract More Consumers if the Data Is Advancing Health and Medicine
ORLANDO, FL — (Marketwired) — 12/09/15 — The anticipation around how Internet-connected devices, apps and other digital platforms will transform health and medicine continues to be high. Yet, consumers still note that privacy concerns are one of the major barriers keeping them from participating. A recent survey of more than 300 consumers sought to understand how optimistic they are about these platforms contributing to medicine and how privacy concerns could be overcome.
It’s no secret consumers are engaging with online and digital platforms: 75 percent of respondents note they share something with an online platform such as social media at least once a month. But the hesitation is clearly seen when it comes to personal health: less than 20 percent of that group notes they would feel comfortable sharing medical or health information. At the same time, the study shows an impressive 66 percent of respondents believe that these devices and platforms can advance medicine. However, 85 percent are too concerned about the privacy of their data to commit to providing it. The future is still bright though — the survey also found that if companies could better prove the data collected was helping to further medicine and identify trends to act on, some consumers might be less concerned with privacy.
“Consumers are eager to see what this data can do for health and medicine as a whole. They are dedicated and actively engaged with many of these platforms, receiving updates on how to improve personally. The opportunity for companies is to prove the data benefits more than just the individual wearing the device or using the app,” said Ashley White, Head of the Wearable Technology and Healthcare Practices at Uproar PR. “This is not to dismiss the value of individual or group use cases. However, this survey shows consumers want more if they’re going to be open to sharing health data all the time. They want to see that the data collected has driven the development of a new treatment, for example.”
Consumers have suggested they are weary of privacy with any connected device or digital platform before, which more than 50 percent of respondents noted in the survey. When it comes to health and medical information though, sensitivity is very high with 85 percent of respondents specifically concerned about privacy when the platform involves this type of information.
Additionally, when asked which type of platform consumers are most comfortable sharing health and medical data with, majority noted none of the platforms. However, connected devices pulled 24 percent of the respondents as being the platform they felt most comfortable providing data to.
“It’s exciting that consumers have faith in the numerous devices and platforms available to transform humankind’s health, wellness and medical journey,” said Mike Harris, Partner at Uproar PR. “Privacy is a big hurdle to overcome and can really never be fully promised, so it’s important companies not only make continued strides to improve security but also invest in showing value in the future of medicine.”