There are tons of online sites that ask you for personal health information. Further, most medical experts you deal with keep your health details on file. While helpful, the problem with your personal health details circulating on the Internet has to do with security. More precisely, who is in control of your information? Also, how secure is that information? You’d be surprised at the answers to these questions.

Securing Your Online Health Details

Forbes Magazine recently posted a piece about this very top on the Forbes blog site. What was discovered is that nobody really owns Internet health information. It might be tough to discern who can see your information. What’s more, finding out who actually needs to know about your health details is even trickier. Does your therapist really need access to your medical records? This question has been long debated, but there’s really no clear-cut answer.

So, what can you do if the health expert you see adds all of your private data to some Internet database? Is there a way to protect your information? The simple answer is “yes,” but you have to be willing to put your foot down on occasion. Most people are afraid to stand up to health experts, but there’s really no fear in doing so. Here are some straightforward tips that might help.

How to Protect Online Health Data

First, keep in mind that your personal information is yours. You cannot be forced to provide these details. If you do not want someone to know about certain aspects of your health, simply don’t provide this information. Further, if you are skeptical or uncertain as to why someone needs your health data, make sure to research this person thoroughly. Should you decide that your data doesn’t need to be released, feel free to refuse.

Second, you have the right to ask where your data will be placed. You also have the right to ask who will be able to see health details. If you don’t like the answers to these questions, you don’t need to relinquish any additional information. You truly are the master of your health data, so keep this in mind the next time your dentist asks about your recent therapy treatments.

Submitting Data Online

In the event that you are asked to fill out an online health questionnaire, be careful about exposing too many details. Even if a site looks secure, you might be giving a company too much information. That information can, in turn, be sold to other companies. Read through privacy policies and make sure to ask where health details will be sent. Again, if you don’t like the answers to these questions, do not provide the requested information.

Right now, governments are still trying to decide who controls online health details. Whether or not certain people should have access to health records is still up for debate. But, don’t wait for governments to figure this problem out. Protect yourself first. This way, you can be sure that your health records will remain in the right hands.