Maverick's Update

You probably know that TikTok is the most popular social media app. But if you’re older than 55, you may not have seen any of TikTok’s 15-second videos posted by anyone about absolutely anything. Ironically named after the sound of something that no one hears anymore — a clock or watch ticking — this app is so popular that its CEO was attacked equally by both political parties in Congress this week. Given its access to 150M young American users, TikTok is being accused of both detrimentally impacting users’ mental health and sharing data with China. This may be the reason why the U.S. finally gets a national privacy law. In the One Thoughtful Paragraph, we take 15 seconds to look at what is happening this week in digital health.

It won’t even take 15 seconds to read about federal activity related to health data privacy:

• The enforcer of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, the HHS Office of Civil Rights, defended its request to nearly double its budget in FY 2024, citing HIPAA complaints increasing fivefold over the past two decades. The FTC also asked for more money, calling for a $160M funding boost to address complex consumer health data privacy issues.
• HHS, in collaboration with the CARIN Alliance, released a report summarizing lessons learned and recommendations for the creation of a single sign-on for patients who want to access their medical records — keeping in mind how best to protect their privacy.
• The FDA revised its guidance on the use of EHRs in clinical trials to better meet data integrity and security goals. The FDA also released its framework for the Use of Digital Health Technologies in Drug and Biological Product Development, recognizing that collecting data from remote clinical trial participants may cause data privacy and confidentiality concerns.

One Thoughtful Paragraph