As a full-service health tech PR and marketing agency, we run into the issue of personal health information (PHI) a lot! We see how our clients use it; we understand the risks of sharing it, as well as the potential benefits. We asked 7 of our top health IT communications pros to answer this question:
If your personal health information would not be held against you in any way -- in the form of social stigma or higher insurance premiums, for example -- how important would the privacy of your personal health information be to you? Would you share your health data freely with researchers?
"Sure, I would be happy to share my personal health information with researchers as long as it's used properly and not sold to third party companies. If it can help others in some way, I would be all for it." - Stephen Alberts, Digital Marketing Expert
"Many advances in healthcare were built on the backs of people who shared their health information willingly or not. It took us nearly a century to go from scribbled notes to usable EHRs. In that time we have made progress in ethical and secure data collection. It seems like we are in a place where we can focus on making data safe, accessible and actionable, respecting the people behind the numbers -- something I would be happy to be a part of." - Arielle Sklar, Account Director
"I'd definitely feel more inclined to share my personal health information with researchers if there was a guarantee that all information remained confidential and utilized just for the purpose of research. However, I would probably remain reluctant due to a fear that my data would be shared with third-party organizations." - Johnny Garcia, Social Media Account Manager
"My personal health information is pretty vanilla, which I guess is good? But, I would be open to sharing my information with researchers if there is a value. I am an organ donor, too, so similar concept to using my body parts for someone else's benefit." - Paul Purvis, Director of Business Development