I hope I have been proven wrong…
Recently I looked into SmartPhones in medical use, and commented that I felt the applications were not ready for prime time, and that I hoped that somebody could prove me wrong as to the reason why: security. If it was me, I’d want effective security that my communications over the SmartPhone were going to the person I directed them to, and would not be intercepted by somebody else.
Well, the proof hasn’t come to me yet, and I must share that it may be on the way in the form of ACHESS a SmartPhone app for alcoholism and addiction treatment. A study is under way for ACHESS that will test its features from “panic buttons” to GPS locators helping consumers get peer and professional support when they are experiencing cravings or have wandered into the wrong place to stay clean and sober.
ACHESS, or Addiction CHESS, is being tested in the field right now, and we’ll know the outcome in a few months.
I like the ideas that form the foundation of the app and how it’s used.
Still, I wonder about security. I reviewed the ACHESS web site, discovering that current iterations of the product are primarily for the home computer, for which SSL and a few quite good security solutions like Citrix are about as effective as you’re going to get. The problem with the SmartPhone is that it’s wireless, and if your messages go out into the ether without some sort of scrambling called encryption, there is a high likelihood they could be intercepted. Addiction treatment has long been concerned with protecting the identity and treatment records of consumers in treatment, and that’s not about to change.
I looked, I called, and I Emailed, and still have no answer to this concern…then again, the test is just beginning, and the answer to that question is forthcoming.
…more to come.
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