FROM THE FOUNDATION

The Social Life of Health Information

A new Pew Internet/CHCF national survey finds the Internet has joined doctors and family members as one of the top three ways people search for answer to their health care questions.

Evaluating One-e-App

CHCF and The California Endowment funded the development of One-e-App, a Web-based program that enables users to apply for multiple public insurance programs at once. Read a business case assessment by The Lewin Group.

Privacy, Security, and the Stimulus Bill

The recently enacted economic stimulus legislation includes a number of improvements to federal health privacy law. This brief looks at issues of privacy and security in the wake of ARRA.

Special Reports

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Google's New Flu Tracking Tool Raises Concerns About Internet Users' Privacy, Experts Say

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In an iHealthBeat Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy, patient privacy advocates express concerns about Google's new online flu tracking tool.

The tool, called Flu Trends, tracks search terms entered by Internet users to help U.S. public health officials identify more quickly potential regional outbreaks. Google says it has found a close relationship between the number of people who search for flu-related topics online and how many people actually have the flu. 

However, privacy advocates argue that Internet user information stored by Google and other search engines could prejudice insurers, employers, lenders or others who might gain access to it.

The Special Report includes comments from:

  • Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center;
  • Deborah Peel, founder of Patient Privacy Rights; and
  • Lisa Winston, chief epidemiologist at the University of California-San Francisco (Kennedy, iHealthBeat, 11/19).
Running Time: 4:48



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