By Sandra Ray, Staff Writer
Since there could be many people who would have a
“stake” in the remote monitoring system, it is
necessary to have these discussions in advance. For
example, if an adult caregiver of a parent feels
like the system is necessary, yet the parent is not
willing to accept it in the home, the concept may
cause more stress than it would prevent. Further, if
a physician’s office deems it medically necessary to
monitor someone from home, there may be more than
one person who needs to be trained on the system.
Frank discussions about what the data may mean and
the context in which it should be interpreted are in
order.
Safety of Electronic Data:
The Civic Research Institute cautioned that
responsibility accompanies privacy and ethical
considerations in terms of sharing that information
in a way that can have the most meaningful impact on
the person who is being monitored. Clearly defined
protocols for sharing data electronically (i.e.
electronic health records or email) need to be
developed. Wireless transmission of data brings its
own set of unique privacy concerns since the ability
to intercept transmissions certainly exists. It is
not beyond the scope of imagination that a person
motivated to gain access to someone else’s health
records would be able to intercept data and decrypt
it. Investigative research and protocol sharing in
this area still needs to be performed.
Trading privacy for security may not be as
clearly defined as the Georgia Institute of
Technology study would have patients believe. The
next generation of elderly – Baby Boomers – may not
be willing to accept technology in the home that can
track and record movements, transmit information to
other family members and a doctor’s office, and
still purport to remain private. Further research to
determine how much privacy individuals are willing
to give up in order to remain in the home still
needs to be done in order for telehealth systems to
continue to develop.
For those who are comfortable using the
technology in the home, it is able to accomplish
many tasks, including helping keep family and
physicians informed about basic health concerns. It
helps overcome many barriers, like forgetfulness and
patient compliance issues. Those who opt to use it
should consider the ramifications of relinquishing
some measure of privacy and determine if the
trade-off is worth it.
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