Apple Hiring Lawyer With Health Privacy Expertise, HIPAA Experience

[MacRumors]

Apple is looking to fill a "Privacy Counsel" position with an attorney who has expertise in the health field and HIPAA compliance, according to a new listing on the company's job site discovered by Business Insider. The job description calls for someone who has "health privacy expertise" and 5 to 9 years of experience as an associate at a top-tier law firm or business, among other qualifications.

Apple's privacy counsel will help the company navigate U.S. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws, which include a strict set of standards for managing the privacy and security of all health-related information. The listing also asks for CIPP certification, the first certification offered for information privacy law, and lists the following potential projects:

- privacy by design reviews and projects
- assist with privacy complaints and breaches
- support compliance and auditing frameworks
- advise on privacy aspects of licensing and procurement deals and corporate acquisitions
- assist with drafting of policies and procedures surrounding privacy laws

Apple has taken a significant interest in healthcare in recent years, introducing the Apple Watch and both ResearchKit and CareKit, two frameworks designed to help researchers and doctors interface with patients and gather invaluable health-related data. Given that interest, it is unsurprising Apple is looking for a lawyer with expertise in these areas, but it does perhaps signal Apple's intention to further delve into medical research that would require HIPAA compliance.

As Business Insider points out, none of Apple's current products require federal medical regulation and Apple does not offer a HIPAA compliant database for CareKit developers.

Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook said health is an area where Apple is "very focused." "We believe that health is something that is a huge problem in the world, a huge issue, and we think it is ripe for simplicity and sort of a new view," he said. "We'd like to contribute to that."

Article Link: Apple Hiring Lawyer With Health Privacy Expertise, HIPAA Experience

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Apple employs hundreds of layers. Every lawyer that's every touched a malpractice case has HIPAA experience. This isn't special or surprising.

 

[Carlanga]

Apple employs hundreds of layers. Every lawyer that's every touched a malpractice case has HIPAA experience. This isn't special or surprising.

They are asking for a certification as well.

 

[rp2011]

Apple is forging forward with health. It makes sense they get their ducks in a row.

 

[radiology]

"We believe that health is something that is a huge problem in the world..."

What a genius! I would never thought that health is such a huge problem! No wonder you are the CEO Apple!

 

[JimmyHook]

Apple should disrupt healthcare in a major way! We need it in the US

 

[rp2011]

"We believe that health is something that is a huge problem in the world..."

What a genius! I would never thought that health is such a huge problem! No wonder you are the CEO Apple!

Well as a company. Like putting resources out there as a company to develop solutions.

I think this is the last thing anyone should be snarky towards Apple and Tim over.

 

[radiology]

Well as a company. Like putting resources out there as a company to develop solutions.

I think this is the last thing anyone should be snarky towards Apple and Tim over.

The health care world does not tolerate dysfunctional products. Imagine if you are relaying on a device to monitor an important condition you may have and all of a sudden after an update the device stops working and you are in the dark and may even ending up with some even more serious health problem. Let me give you an example. If you are diabetic and your monitor does not read your blood sugar accurately and you take a wrong dose of insuline. That can kill you! Thinks are not as simple as Tim is saying. He either has no clue or trying to be deceiving (as usual).

He needs to go back an work as the Apple COMPUTERS CEO.
[doublepost=1464143120][/doublepost]

Apple should disrupt healthcare in a major way! We need it in the US

The main problem health care in the USA has is cost! Do you think he can help us with that? He rips you off every time you buy an apple product! What make you think he can help decrease the health care cost? Please enlighten me.

 

[writingdevil]

The health care world does not tolerate dysfunctional products. Imagine if you are relaying on a device to monitor an important condition you may have and all of a sudden after an update the device stops working and you are in the dark and may even ending up with some even more serious health problem. Let me give you an example. If you are diabetic and your monitor does not read your blood sugar accurately and you take a wrong dose of insuline. That can kill you! Thinks are not as simple as Tim is saying. He either has no clue or trying to be deceiving (as usual).

He needs to go back an work as the Apple COMPUTERS CEO.
[doublepost=1464143120][/doublepost]
The main problem health care in the USA has is cost! Do you think he can help us with that? He rips you off every time you buy an apple product! What make you think he can help decrease the health care cost? Please enlighten me.

[doublepost=1464144130][/doublepost]You have a biased opinion about Apple and TC, which is ok, but your comments have nothing to do with his comments. Lowering health care costs is truly a problem which he nor Apple are addressing. Any critical apps will have FDA testing/approval before implementing, which is precisely why they were not included with Apple Watch launch. Your idea that any doctor would advise a patient with a critical health issue to depend on an app is very misinformed. Btw, you might not know it but you misspelled insulin, in case you are truly interested in accuracy.

 

[radiology]

[doublepost=1464144130][/doublepost]
You have a biased opinion about Apple and TC, which is ok, but your comments have nothing to do with his comments. Lowering health care costs is truly a problem which he nor Apple are addressing. Any critical apps will have FDA testing/approval before implementing, which is precisely why they were not included with Apple Watch launch. Your idea that any doctor would advise a patient with a critical health issue to depend on an app is very misinformed. Btw, you might not know it but you misspelled insulin, in case you are truly interested in accuracy.

Since you are so well informed, please tell me about one "noncritical" condition that they could explore? My point is that anything that involves health care in general can have serious consequences if mishandled, and the way Apple Operating systems in general have been working recently...

Sorry if I offended you with my typo. You must be really a writing devil.

 

[Rocketman]

Tim front ran this news yesterday in an interview with the startup entity.

 

[Jakexb]

Given Tim's recent remarks about healthcare, they're up to something big. He doesn't drop hints like that until something is almost ready.

 

[radiology]

Given Tim's recent remarks about healthcare, they're up to something big. He doesn't drop hints like that until something is almost ready.

or he wants investors to believe that. He has not delivered anything so far.

 

[now i see it]

Recording crucial health data on an iOS device that also runs Goat Simulator seems like a great idea to me.

 

[Rocketman]

Given Tim's recent remarks about healthcare, they're up to something big. He doesn't drop hints like that until something is almost ready.

Everything he says is orchestrated. If he gets a left field question he punts.

I got AAPL at $89.99. Check that.

 

[stanman64]

Since you are so well informed, please tell me about one "noncritical" condition that they could explore? My point is that anything that involves health care in general can have serious consequences if mishandled, and the way Apple Operating systems in general have been working recently...

Sorry if I offended you with my typo. You must be really a writing devil.

Hospital equipment does not undergo software "updates" like consumer electronics do. Yes, the operating systems and software on the computers do, but in my experience that can be rare as well (my company has 15,000+ employees and countless patients, yet our entire system is still based on Windows Server 2003*eyeroll*). Much like a shovel or any other tool, once medical equipment is built and sold, that's the way it is. If it stops working or becomes obsolete, it is replaced.


Source: I work in a hospital

 

[Col4bin]

New FDA-approved Apple Watch coming in 30 years!

Wait, what?

 

[radiology]

Hospital equipment does not undergo software "updates" like consumer electronics do. Yes, the operating systems and software on the computers do, but in my experience that can be rare as well (my company has 15,000+ employees and countless patients, yet our entire system is still based on Windows Server 2003*eyeroll*). Much like a shovel or any other tool, once medical equipment is built and sold, that's the way it is. If it stops working or becomes obsolete, it is replaced.


Source: I work in a hospital

I agree with your statements and I also work in a hospital (for almost 20 years now...). But Apple is not proposing to enter the healthcare system by building traditional medical equipment, which as you said don't get updates as often (if ever). They want to incorporate their line of products which gets buggy software (not hard aware) updates very often. Right now I can't think that Apple would succeed based on the huge number of issues they are having. I am sure that one can do nice things with an Apple Watch, like tracking their medicine schedule or reminding them to go for a walk or stand up (I am not joking here), but to say that they can disrupt health care as many in this forum are saying, is a long shoot. Most people don't remember but Google had Google health. Why do you think they gave up on that? Health care is a very complex system.

 

[Ivanovitchk]

Recording crucial health data on an iOS device that also runs Goat Simulator seems like a great idea to me.

so what ? desktop, laptops, etc can also run goat simulator, does that exposes a risk ?! Don't think so...

 

[stanman64]

I agree with your statements and I also work in a hospital (for almost 20 years now...). But Apple is not proposing to enter the healthcare system by building traditional medical equipment, which as you said don't get updates as often (if ever). They want to incorporate their line of products which gets buggy software (not hard aware) updates very often. Right now I can't think that Apple would succeed based on the huge number of issues they are having. I am sure that one can do nice things with an Apple Watch, like tracking their medicine schedule or reminding them to go for a walk or stand up (I am not joking here), but to say that they can disrupt health care as many in this forum are saying, is a long shoot. Most people don't remember but Google had Google health. Why do you think they gave up on that? Health care is a very complex system.

I agree. I think Apple can make a revolutionary change with consumer healthcare and recreational health, but I don't believe there is much they could do with provided services and care.

 

[radiology]

so what ? desktop, laptops, etc can also run goat simulator, does that exposes a risk ?! Don't think so...

Oh yes they do. Can you have Goat simulator in a computer that the air traffic controller operates? Would that expose it to any risk?

 

[Ivanovitchk]

Oh yes they do. Can you have Goat simulator in a computer that the air traffic controller operates? Would that expose it to any risk?

Soooo ? It's not because it can run Goat simulator that it's allowed to. On safety critical systems like ATC / SCADA / etc..., third party software installation is prohibited, the host OS has no play in that as long as it can enforce SW restrictions / company policies, which is possible on iOS...

moreover when critical systems need to expose data to a potentially unstable (I.E not 100% qualified) OS / App UI, the rule is to make the critical codespace and underlying hardware independant.

Some examples:

touch ID is separated from the main SoC / OS with it's own mcu & query API in the form of the Secure Enclave.

BLE / Lightning blood glucose monitors, their related iOS apps don't require FDA re-certification for each updates, just like the device's radio firmware which is separated from the qualified HW/SW that actually takes and exposes the measurements.