This past summer Dr. Ira Nash decided to have a cardiac monitor the size of a USB stick implanted into his chest. After living with a heart condition for years, the 59-year-old New York cardiologist decided he wanted a better window into his health. The implant, he knew, would generate a detailed, real-time portrait of his heart’s behavior.
He went forward with the surgery, and as he was lying in the hospital recovering, he asked a technician who worked for the device’s maker, Medtronic, how he could get access to the data. He was shocked by the response: Patients aren’t allowed to see device data.
“Why would you ever separate a patient from his or her health information?” Nash told STAT, reflecting on that moment. “It’s like hiding someone’s blood pressure from them. It just doesn’t make sense.”
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