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Professor Nicolas Terry testified before Congress’s Energy and Commerce subcommittee about issues related to health care apps. Professor Terry offered his testimony on July 13.

Testimony surrounded much of Professor Terry’s recent scholarship on the failure of mobile health technology to disrupt health care in the United States, and the lack of privacy protections in place for consumers.

“In my opinion federal data protection law that obviates the gaps between our commercial sectors and protects health information wherever it happens to reside is overdue and a necessary precondition for the full embrace of disruptive health apps by both medical professionals and consumers,” Professor Terry said in his testimony. News of the testimony was part of the Politico Morning eHealth report, the website Mobi Health News, and The Hill on July 13. Video of the conference can be found on YouTube. Professor Terry reports that his prepared testimony begins at 1:11 in the YouTube video, the question and answer session he takes part in begins at 1:28, and Congresswoman Susan Brooks' remarks begin at 1:50.

In addition, Professor Terry spoke about the testimony with a reporter for BNA Bloomberg and its Health Care Report, which was published July 19. Professor Terry notes that most American consumers of healthcare mobile apps don't realize that the same privacy protections that apply to their relationships with doctors don't apply to their use of apps.

Professor Terry, in the photo at right, spoke with Congresswoman Brooks, ’85, after the testimony.

Professor Terry is the Hall Render Professor of Law and executive director of the Hall Center for Law and Health. He was invited by the White House to take part in the Precision Medicine Initiative Summit in February 2016. He also is a member of the Health IT Consumer Workgroup. His research interests lie primarily at the intersection of medicine, law, and information technology. His recent scholarship has dealt with health privacy, social media and health, big data, and health care fragmentation. He started the podcast, “The Week in Health Law” with Professor Frank Pasquale of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. The podcast is available for download at iTunes, and PodBean, and can be listened to at Stitcher Radio. He is one of the permanent bloggers at HealthLawProf and at Harvard Law School’s Bill of Health.  His recent publications are available on the Social Science Research Network, and he can be followed on Twitter @nicolasterry.