Medical centers in Australia ask patients to share their data or else pay more

Our Medical, a chain of 33 medical, dental and radiology clinics across the east coast of Australia, charges more the patients who don't sign up to their app.

According to Choice, one of the clinics' patients said that as a non-member of their loyalty program and app, she would have to pay a $90 out-of-pocket private fee to see her GP. The same service, booked through the app, would be free.

What's the catch?

As in all aspects of digital lives, the (big) catch is personal data. According to Our Medical's privacy policy, the app collects health data that can be used "to conduct business processing functions including providing personal information to our related bodies corporate, contractors, service providers or other third parties." The same policy states that data can be used for marketing and research purposes, and location will be tracked when the member's device location settings allow it.

Main issues that raise concerns:

- The data sharing with third parties is unclear and undefined in the privacy policy, which doesn't mention any details about who will access and handle the sensitive information collected.

- Patients' data might be used for research without their explicit consent

- Senior citizens and others who might not have the digital literacy to access a smartphone or use their app will be charged more

- The unethical urge to hand over data and financially penalize the opting out.

Despite all these, the practice is not illegal, according to the existing form of the Privacy Act, which CHOICE is fighting to update with stronger privacy reforms to protect all consumers.

Protect your digital identity and health data

Even in the grey zone of dealing with digital platforms or digital health intermediaries, when you cannot afford not to use an app/ service, you can still take some precautions to ensure that you will be minimally affected in case of exposure.

1. Set up a unique, strong password for your health app and enable two-factor authentication, if available.
2. Watch out for unsolicited emails, links, and attachments allegedly sent from your clinic, hospitals, treatment centers, and insurance companies. Contact your health provider whenever in doubt and use only official channels for communicating sensitive details.
3. Use advanced tools like Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection  to monitor where your data is. It continuously scans millions of websites and the Dark Web, letting you know if your personal information showed up on the internet and where.

With Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, you can see your digital footprint at a glance, check your breach history, and map risk. In case of being involved in a breach, you receive notifications about the event, details about your data, and easy, 1-click action items to minimize risks.

Read more about our identity protection and privacy solutions here.