Telehealth Sites Put Addiction Patient Data at Risk

While mobile health options have been celebrated by doctors and advocates as a way to expand treatment for substance use disorders, there has been persistent concern over how private the websites are.

The findings from a 16-month analysis of a dozen major substance-use-focused mHealth websites reveal how much data is shared with third parties. The sharing of any kind of patient information is often strictly regulated or forbidden, but in addiction treatment it is even more forbidden as patients' medical history can be stigmatized.

The confidentiality of treatment records is guaranteed by a law known as 42 CFR Part 2, which is also known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. There is a gray area where browsing histories exist and experts find them concerning.

Blacklight is a privacy tool created by a news nonprofit and used to analyze websites. All of the websites had technologies that collect, identify, and share information about users with third parties. Researchers found that the number of these trackers increased over the 16 months.

In addition, 11 of the sites used third-party session cookies that identify visitors and track them across other websites to serve ads, and four of the 12 used session recording, which monitor the behavior of visitors to the sites, from their mouse movements and clicks to their scrolling and typing, even All but one of the websites sent user data to ad tech companies that buy and sell user data for ads.

Providers emphasize their commitment to privacy on their websites. In the addiction policy field, when we define our position about privacy, it is much more comprehensive than what is written in some of the companies.

There are websites for people with stigmatized medical conditions. There is concern about what could happen as a result of the tracking, but not necessarily that it has already been used in a bad way. The sensitive information people share during treatment for substance use disorders can affect their employment status, ability to get a home, and even their freedom. The threat of losing so much would deter people from getting life-saving help and set up strict laws to protect those who do. Part 2 was designed to prevent and more, but experts worry that the data collected on telehealth sites could cause harm.