For the benefits of digital medicine to be fully realized, we need not only to find a shared home for personal health data but also to give individuals the right to own them.
In a commentary published on September 8, 2015, in Nature Biotechnology, Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Translational Science Institute, and Leonard Kish of UnPatient.org, explain why and how patients should own their medical data.
The authors propose that “the key to liberating personal health data and realizing their true potential in human research and clinical practice is the provision of data management systems that give individuals the right to own their own data.” In a bid to empower patients and actualize “the real benefits of a new, data-driven high-definition era of medicine,” the article promotes “ownership of one’s medical data as a civil right and as a pivotal strategy to further digitize medicine.”
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Visit UnPatient.org