Today Congressmen Marino and DeFazio sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell that outlined several steps HHS should take to provide clarity surrounding confusion on HIPAA in the mobile health marketplace. This followed a letter sent Monday from ACT | The App Association and leading mobile health companies to Congress. In response to the swift action taken by Congressmen Marino and DeFazio, App Association Executive Director Morgan Reed issued the following statement:
The App Association is pleased that Congress is strongly committed to the success of mobile health innovation. Our companies are using mobile connectivity from smartphones and tablets to give consumers greater access to healthcare providers and more control over their health information.
We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our consumers with strong privacy protections. Unfortunately, we are working in a regulatory environment that has not kept pace with the rapid growth of technology.
The app industry has long looked to Congressmen Marino and DeFazio for their leadership on tech issues. We are grateful for their support to create a better regulatory environment that encourages innovation in this life-changing marketplace. HHS needs to know that they have champions both in Congress and industry that want to see HIPAA improved.
Today we also found it timely to release a portion of our larger annual report that focuses specifically on the mobile health app economy. It’s clear from our research that the industry is experiencing tremendous growth. However, a commitment from Congress and the administration to take action on regulatory constraints facing the mobile health industry would ultimately accelerate innovation and improve healthcare in our country.
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Image: Jeffrey Zeldman / license