The growth, expansion and acceleration and spread of large-scale networks in recent years has led to a huge change in various aspects of human life, and the impact of this technology on science, technology and business, has led to the emergence of new areas such as e-government, education Electronics and electronic health. E-Health integrates and integrates health information by creating an electronic health record, which is very useful for various stakeholders, subject to patient privacy and confidentiality. In developed countries, governments have provided the requirements for the development of e-health by adopting appropriate policies and measures . I have said many times that the biggest obstacle to the advancement of the digital health revolution is the issue of privacy. Simply put, there is no digital health technology in which you do not need to sacrifice some of your privacy. Without our data, new technologies cannot advance and there is no way to put them into practice in everyday medical practice. The main question is not whether we should sacrifice part of our privacy or not! Rather, how do we do this so that we can protect what is valuable and vulnerable?

In principle, medical confidentiality and privacy of patients is one of the most important ethical duties in the field of medical ethics, which has a long history in the medical world. The importance of this issue is mentioned in the Hippocratic Oath and it is called as a sacred thing. In Islam, too, the issue of confidentiality has been given great importance, and it is very clear that if this issue is related to the doctor-patient relationship, its importance will be doubled. In expressing the cause and philosophy of confidentiality, several reasons are mentioned, including respect for the patient's autonomy and also preventing damage to the doctor-patient relationship, which is the main component of this relationship  (trust)  . Therefore, in most of the ethical codes of medical associations and associations, the issue of privacy and confidentiality has been emphasized a lot, and even in some countries, laws have been enacted in this regard, such as the law. HIPAA (Health Insurace Portability and Accountability ACT)  in the United States .

What are the rules to prevent privacy breaches in health services?

 HIPAA security and privacy laws require health care organizations to adopt processes and procedures to ensure the highest level of confidentiality of patient information. Patients want their information to be secure and trust companies to keep it secure and confidential .

In the United States of America, the main regulations that control such things, the law  HIPPA , transfer and insurance  (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)  in 1996. This law is designed to specify how to protect personally identifiable information in the health industry. However, this legislation before the current digital age, and even after the revisions and amendments, some outside support  HIPAA  are .

In the case of the Ovia app, even if the company stores personally identifiable and potentially identifiable personal information in its plan, such as the menstrual cycle or sexual activity of individuals, this information is not assigned a  HIPAA-  protected health tag .

In 2008, GINA  ,  or the  genetic information non-discrimination act  , expanded the rules for more valuable genetic data. Genetic data has the potential to indicate a high probability of developing some chronic diseases, and if such private information is not fully protected, we may find ourselves in a dystopia of health services .

We may have trouble getting insurance or finding employers to pay for it. Even if our health data is well protected, it is not difficult to imagine a future in which insurers can decide to insure only those who have full access to their data. And unfortunately, there is no clear solution to this problem .

Protecting the security and privacy of this sensitive information has long been the responsibility of health system managers. In addition to updating, privacy policies need to be upgraded. In today's age of vast health information, this is even more important than ever .

On the other hand, the need for confidentiality is not an absolute matter, and there may be situations in which the physician is forced to violate confidentiality; For example, when there is a serious threat to another person or society. Although the determination of cases of these cases is left to physicians, but some countries have entered the determination of cases according to the circumstances. For example, in some countries, physicians are required to report mandatory illnesses, such as pilot reports of epilepsy. Therefore, physicians need to be familiar with the laws and regulations of the country or province where they practice .

HIPAA  enacted strict rules to protect private health care information. At present, health care providers, health insurers, and the companies they work with must privatize personal identification health information.

Health care providers and insurers may not disclose your personal information unless the person who needs it, such as a doctor, is working in your care, or the information needed to facilitate health care.