DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Aetna to offer wealth of health data online

Posted on March 12, 2008October 24, 2024 by Dissent

Victoria Colliver writes in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Aetna Inc. is offering its members a new online search tool that connects to easy-to-understand articles, local doctors who specialize in their needs, as well as cost information based on their personal health record and benefits.

The service is a result of a partnership with Healthline Networks, a San Francisco health-technology company that develops software to navigate health searches.

[…]

Unlike most other personal health records, Aetna’s service will not require patients to fill in all their health details because much of that information can be culled from the insurer’s claims history. The search engine – called Aetna SmartSource – mines data on Aetna’s site to present members with relevant results based on the terms they searched, personal profile, benefit plan and other information.

“The carrier already has your health data, so there’s not an issue of some third party mining for information they might use against you,” said Greg Sterling, analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence in San Francisco.

While privacy is always a concern when putting sensitive health information online, Aetna, as a health insurer, is required to comply with federal health privacy laws that do not apply to companies such as Microsoft and Google, Sterling said.

Aetna officials said they would not sell or share data, target ads at consumers based on their search history or use any information from medical searches against a member.

“We have claims information on people from day one. That information is between Aetna and the insured and is not used at all,” said John Bahl, head of online product design for Aetna. “We’ve got this information, and we think we could do a better job in presenting our resources to our members when they need them.”

Under Healthline and Aetna’s agreement, the insurer licenses Healthline’s software, which translates medical language into more easily understood terms and delivers a customized search. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The new service is already being tested by the insurer’s 30,000 employees and will be expanded to as many as 2 million customers by the end of this year as part of a pilot program. Ultimately, the company said, it will be available to its 16.8 million members nationwide.

Full story – San Francisco Chronicle

Update 1: Some additional resources on Aetna’s program:

  • Aetna’s announcement of SmartSourceSM
  • Aetna’s Demo of SmartSourceSM
  • The Wall Street Journal: Aetna Smartens Up Medical Search
  • The New York Times: Aetna to Offer an Online Service That Helps Patients Link Records and Research

No related posts.

Category: Health Data

Post navigation

← New Hampshire health providers oppose records bill
Hacking Medical Devices (update 1) →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Integrated Oncology Network victim of phishing attack; multiple locations affected (2)
  • HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule Investigation with Deer Oaks Behavioral Health for $225k and a Corrective Action Plan
  • HB1127 Explained: North Dakota’s New InfoSec Requirements for Financial Corporations
  • Credit reports among personal data of 190,000 breached, put for sale on Dark Web; IT vendor fined
  • Five youths arrested on suspicion of phishing
  • Russia Jailed Hacker Who Worked for Ukrainian Intelligence to Launch Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure
  • Kentfield Hospital victim of cyberattack by World Leaks, patient data involved
  • India’s Max Financial says hacker accessed customer data from its insurance unit
  • Brazil’s central bank service provider hacked, $140M stolen
  • Iranian and Pro-Regime Cyberattacks Against Americans (2011-Present)

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • On July 7, Gemini AI will access your WhatsApp and more. Learn how to disable it on Android.
  • German court awards Facebook user €5,000 for data protection violations
  • Record-Breaking $1.55M CCPA Settlement Against Health Information Website Publisher
  • Ninth Circuit Reviews Website Tracking Class Actions and the Reach of California’s Privacy Law
  • US healthcare offshoring: Navigating patient data privacy laws and regulations
  • Data breach reveals Catwatchful ‘stalkerware’ is spying on thousands of phones
  • Google Trackers: What You Can Actually Escape And What You Can’t

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.