Member education materials

Accessing your personal health information and provider information through a health app

Our Medicare Advantage and CHIP members can view their Capital Blue Cross health information through a third-party application, or “health app.” Health apps can have different names and are owned by companies other than us. They can be downloaded from an app store to your smart phone, tablet, or computer. Health apps may help you access your health information. Not all health-related apps have this feature.

We make your information available to a health app only if you allow us to share the information. The app must be registered with us.

Health information sharing: why it’s available

Many people in the United States use apps to track activities like exercise and to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes.

Some people also want to view their health information online or through an app. Until recently, privacy rules did not allow apps to access someone’s health information.

The 21st Century Cures Act, a law passed in 2016, laid the groundwork to allow information sharing between health apps and others, like healthcare providers and health insurers. In 2020, the federal government decided how that process will work.

We want our members to have information to help them decide if sharing their health information with an app is right for them. We are providing information for you to consider before you decide to share health information with a health app. The choice remains yours.

How to tell us to share your health information with a health app

  • Choose “share information” in the preference center of your secure account.
  • Review the list of health apps registered with us.
  • Download your selected health app from an app store onto your smart device or computer.
  • Permit the app to access your health information at Capital Blue Cross. This will probably be done in the app’s settings, but may be it may be done differently, depending on the app.

Choose "stop sharing" in your preference center if you'd like us to stop sharing your health information with health apps after giving us permission.

Information we will share with a health app

The information we share with a health app includes information we collect about you while you are or were a Capital Blue Cross Medicare Advantage or CHIP member, going as far back as January 1, 2016.

Below are examples of the information we share:

  • Your name, address, diagnoses, your treatments, and amounts paid to providers.
  • Information about times you visited healthcare providers.
  • Clinical information we collect while providing you with case management, care coordination, or other services.

It’s important for you to know that the health app you choose will have access to some or all of your health information. Health apps are not subject to the HIPAA rules about privacy and other privacy laws that can protect your health information.

Instead, the health app’s privacy policy sets its own limits on how it will use, disclose, and (possibly) sell information about you. If you decide to view your health information through a health app, you should read the privacy policy to be sure you are comfortable with what the health app will do with your information.

Health apps that want to offer health information to our members must register with us. When they register, we ask them to confirm that they have basic privacy and security standards in place. But they are not required to confirm. The health apps that have not confirmed are shown on the list of health apps registered with us. We will update this page as the list changes.

Things to consider before choosing a health app

  • Will it save my information? What type of information will it save?
  • Will it sell my information?
  • Will it share my health information to others for things such as research or advertising?
  • How will it use my health information? For what reason?
  • Will it allow me to limit how it uses, discloses, or sells my health information?
  • If I want to stop using a health app, or if I don’t want it to have access to my health information, can I stop the health app’s access to that information? How do I stop the access?
  • Will it delete my health information when I stop access? Do I have to do more than just delete the health app from my device?
  • How will it tell me of changes in its privacy practices?
  • Will it collect information from my device other than health information, such as my location?
  • How does it take to protect my health information?
  • What impact could sharing my health information with a health app have on others, such as my family members?
  • Will it allow me to correct mistakes in my health information? Note that correcting mistakes through a health app does not correct them at the place where the information came from. If you see an error, call the member services number on the back of your member ID card (TTY: 711) for help.
  • Does it have a way to collect and answer user complaints?

If you don’t like the answers to these questions, you should consider not using that health app to access your health information. Your health information may include sensitive information. Select a health app with strong privacy and security standards.

HIPAA enforcement

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. We comply with HIPAA, as do most healthcare providers, such as hospitals, doctors, clinics, and dentists.

You can file a complaint with the OCR if you believe HIPAA was violated. You can also file a complaint with us by contacting member services at the phone number on the back of your member ID card.

Health apps and privacy enforcement

The Federal Trade Commission Act protects against deceptive acts (such as a health app that discloses personal information in violation of its privacy notice). A health app that violates the terms of its privacy notice is subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC provides information about mobile app privacy and security for consumers.

If you believe a health app inappropriately used, disclosed, or sold your information, you should contact the FTC. You can file a complaint with the FTC using the FTC complaint assistant.

Provider information

We make in-network provider information available to health apps to make it easy for our Medicare Advantage and CHIP members to access information about providers. Provider information is also available in your secure account.

Questions

If you have questions about this information, call Member Services at the number on the back of your member ID card. If you have questions about how your health app works or its policies, contact the company that owns the health app.

The information we disclose to a health app may include information about treatment for substance use disorders, mental health treatment, HIV status, or other sensitive information.