<\/p>\n
We are already entering a future where traditional health care spaces, HIPAA\u2019s \u201ccovered entities,\u201d are being supplanted in the health data space by behemoths like Google, Apple, or IBM\u2014all of which operate outside of HIPAA\u2019s regime. While, as we discuss below, some laws may protect particular uses of those data, overall there is little to protect patients from these threats to their health privacy in the U.S. at the moment. Even within traditional health care, there is a need for greater communication about health-relevant data uses and disclosures. The National Research Council report on Precision Medicine emphasizes that it is patients who \u201cuniquely understand the potential value of a social contract in which patients both contribute personal clinical data and benefit from the knowledge gained through the collaboration\u201d114. In consenting to care and treatment, physicians, hospitals, and health systems should consider entering a compact with patients such that data and biospecimens captured as a byproduct of the care delivery system can be aggregated and linked to be used in a learning health system.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n