Month: December 2010

FTC/FDA Need to Protect Health Privacy Online–Look at what personal medical info one health site asks

The online marketing of health and medical related services require urgent and serious scrutiny–from regulators, the Congress and the Obama Administration.  CDD’s recent complaint on digital pharma marketing and advertising addresses this issue.  But action is required.  Take for example, an email we received today from Quality Health/Allergies, promoting a “guide to help you sleep.”  In order to get the guide, you are asked to provide information.  Look at this one example and ask yourself.  Aren’t safeguards required to govern the collection and use of such information.  The newsletter features the TRUSTe seal which should raise questions about how effective that group’s work is protecting privacy.

Even more questions, inc. ones about specific drug brands, was asked that what we have below.  Here’s an excerpt from the questionnaire:

Simply respond to the questions below to continue.
1.     Are you (or someone in your household) going to the doctor in the next 30 days to discuss any of the following conditions below?
Alzheimer’s Disease (Moderate-to-Severe)
Bipolar Disorder
Child with Asthma
Chronic Dry Eyes
Diabetes
Osteoarthritis
Parkinson’s Disease
Rheumatoid Arthritis (Moderate-to-Severe)
Sjögren’s Syndrome
Other Condition
No appointment scheduled
Are you the Alzheimer’s Disease patient or the caregiver?
Patient
Caregiver
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Bipolar Disorder condition?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Asthma condition?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth email you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Dry Eyes condition?
Look for this short series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Does this person also have any of the following symptoms?
Chronic fatigue
Depression
Lack of energy
Excessive Sleepiness
Snoring
Poor concentration
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Osteoarthritis condition?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Parkinson’s Disease?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Sjögren’s Syndrome?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
2.     Do you or a loved one feel tired or sleepy because of: (Check all that apply)
A non-traditional work schedule (includes working nights, evenings, rotating or split shifts or anything other than a normal day shift)
Shift Work Disorder
Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which is treated with a breathing device
Narcolepsy (sudden uncontrollable urge to sleep)
None of the above
3.     Have you or someone you love been diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation, or AFib?
Yes, I have
Yes, a loved one has
No
4.     Do you or someone in your household have Diabetes?
Yes, myself
Yes, someone in my household
No
5.     Do you have any of the following conditions?
(Please check all that apply)
Diabetes
High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Heart Attack
Stroke
Unstable Angina
Smoking or Used to Smoke
PAD (Peripheral Artery Disease)
None of the above
6.     Do you or someone you care for have Psoriasis?
Yes, myself
Yes, someone I care for
No
7.     Do you have any of the following conditions?
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
Panic Disorder (PD)
None of the above
8.     Have you or someone you care for been diagnosed with Cancer?
Yes
No
9.     Do you have a child (under 18) who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
Yes
No
10.     Have you or someone you care for had a “mini-stroke” (transient ischemic attack or TIA) or stroke due to a blood clot?
Yes, myself
Yes, someone I care for
No

Marketing Industry Leader dismisses new self-reg program for online behavioral targeting. Merely a “stop-gap” and “partial solution” measure

Jack Myers is a long-time leader in the marketing and ad industry.  Writing today on the new FTC report, Myers explains that “The recently implemented Forward i logo, while ambitious and well-intentioned, is a stop-gap measure intended to demonstrate to federal regulators and Congress that the industry can police itself.  Ultimately, the solution is likely to evolve to a universal opt-out model combined with a requirement that consumers proactively override their opt-out choice on a one-by-one basis – essentially a reversal of existing self-regulation…the industry cannot continue to assume that partial solutions will meet the requirements of regulators.“

Consumers Union Supports our call for FTC action on digital pharma & health marketing

My CDD is very pleased to have received a copy of this letter sent to the FTC and FDA by Consumers Union.  It underscores how the issues around sensitive data and sensitive users are a critical part of consumer protection online.  We are also pleased about the positive coverage our complaint has received from the press, including the New York Times, CBS/Moneywatch, and other publications.

December 1, 2010

Chairman Jon Leibowitz

Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC  20580

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Consumers Union, the independent, non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, urges the Federal Trade Commission to accept the request of November 23, 2010 from several petitioners “to investigate unfair and deceptive advertising practices that consumers face as they seek health information and services online.”

The very detailed 144-page filing is by the Center for Digital Democracy, U.S. PIRG, Consumer Watchdog, and the World Privacy Forum. Among the companies named in the complaint are Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, WebMD, Quality Health, Everyday Health, and Health Central. The complaint explains how non-traditional pharmaceutical advertising on the internet and elsewhere uses a wide range of tools and disguises to convince consumers to use various drug products. These advertisements frequently hide the fact that they are funded by the drug manufacturer and they often fail to give any hint of side effects or possible adverse events from use of the drugs.

We have not independently examined each of the documents cited in the complaint or the context in which they were used. But the documents are overwhelmingly explicit in their description of how to take information consumers would consider very private (the decision to type in a health-related word or phrase on a website) and consciously and unconsciously manipulate those consumers into the use of specific prescription drug products.

The mass of documents in the complaint are shocking in their totality and their implication for privacy and the use of pharmaceuticals with potentially dangerous side effects or questionable efficacies.

We urge the Commission to begin an immediate investigation pursuant to the requests in the complaint. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

William Vaughan

Health Policy Analyst