BetterHelp is mining patient data

[R. Matey]

See the following complaint lodged to the Federal Trade Commission:

BetterHelp, Inc., In the Matter of

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a proposed order to settle charges that online counseling service BetterHelp revealed consumers’ sensitive data with third parties such as Facebook and Snapchat for advertising after promising to keep such data private.

www.ftc.gov

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[WisNeuro]

I imagine the fine will be pretty minimal compared to what they have made. BH is like half of Teladoc's revenue.

 

[R. Matey]

I imagine the fine will be pretty minimal compared to what they have made. BH is like half of Teladoc's revenue.

Yeah, I think the fine was like ~$7.8MM so probably a slap on the wrist, unfortunately.

 

[WisNeuro]

Yeah, I think the fine was like ~$7.8MM so probably a slap on the wrist, unfortunately.

We call this "the cost of doing business."

 

[R. Matey]

We call this "the cost of doing business."

Boo.

 

[futureapppsy2]

We call this "the cost of doing business."

Yep. This is actually pretty common in regulated industries, unfortunately. It’s also possibly why HIPAA violation fines are so incredibly high.

 

[PsyDWannabe]

They precalculated the cost of inevitably getting caught and figured “…meh *shrugs*”.

 

[PsyDr]

Mental health startup exposes the personal data of more than 3 million people

A mental health startup exposed the personal data of as many as 3.1 million people online. In some cases, possibly sensitive information on mental health treatment was leaked, according to a company statement and a Department of Health and Human services filing.

www.cnn.com

Or the other way, when CVS bought Aetna.

 

[R. Matey]

Yep. This is actually pretty common in regulated industries, unfortunately. It’s also possibly why HIPAA violation fines are so incredibly high.

All the more reason to toss the flyers I get from BetterHelp et al. in the trash.

 

[smalltownpsych]

A fine? That’s ridiculous, if one of us systematically violated patient confidentiality in order to profit, I am pretty sure that our license would be revoked or suspended and our career could be over. Businesses and especially the people who run them and profit off of healthcare have almost zero accountability.

 

[PikminOC]

A fine? That’s ridiculous, if one of us systematically violated patient confidentiality in order to profit, I am pretty sure that our license would be revoked or suspended and our career could be over. Businesses and especially the people who run them and profit off of healthcare have almost zero accountability.

The people who run it have no licenses to go after

 

[smalltownpsych]

The people who run it have no licenses to go after

Exactly. zero accountability.

 

[Sanman]

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that a company that pitched itself as a tech startup tries to monetize your data. HINT: they all do it.

 

[R. Matey]

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that a company that put he's itself as a tech startup tries to monetize your data. HINT: they all do it.

Doesn't make it ok.

 

[Sanman]

Doesn't make it ok.

Never said it was. The public needs to understand you don't get something for nothing. Highly trained professionals cost money and they can't get around that.

 

[R. Matey]

Never said it was. The public needs to understand you don't get something for nothing. Highly trained professionals cost money and they can't get around that.

100%. Half the reason I started the thread.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Never said it was. The public needs to understand you don't get something for nothing. Highly trained professionals cost money and they can't get around that.

Betterhelp charges about 300 a month for their service. It’s one thing when google or Facebook sell our data, they aren’t charging us and telling us that it is confidential. I actually would like it if someone went after these clowns criminally. I worked for them for a brief period of time and their company is wrong on so many levels.

 

[PikminOC]

Betterhelp charges about 300 a month for their service. It’s one thing when google or Facebook sell our data, they aren’t charging us and telling us that it is confidential. I actually would like it if someone went after these clowns criminally. I worked for them for a brief period of time and their company is wrong on so many levels.

I had a friend do better help. It was terrible. I told her for that money she could have gotten a therapist irl. Even cheaper with her insurance

 

[PsyDWannabe]

Never said it was. The public needs to understand you don't get something for nothing. Highly trained professionals cost money and they can't get around that.

We are always the product.

 

[Sanman]

Betterhelp charges about 300 a month for their service. It’s one thing when google or Facebook sell our data, they aren’t charging us and telling us that it is confidential. I actually would like it if someone went after these clowns criminally. I worked for them for a brief period of time and their company is wrong on so many levels.

$300/mth is $75/wk for that they need to pay the therapist and the programmers managing the software platform. No way that alone covers the cost. Even if they passed 100% of the monthly cost onto the therapist, it is a bad deal for us. Then they still need to show a profit. There is no way this was not part of the business plan from the start.

 

[ThatPsyGuy]

Betterhelp charges about 300 a month for their service. It’s one thing when google or Facebook sell our data, they aren’t charging us and telling us that it is confidential. I actually would like it if someone went after these clowns criminally. I worked for them for a brief period of time and their company is wrong on so many levels.

I've only heard horror stories and nightmare experiences/articles about Betterhelp, etc. Mind briefly going over your experience there?

 

[smalltownpsych]

I've only heard horror stories and nightmare experiences/articles about Betterhelp, etc. Mind briefly going over your experience there?

I learned pretty quickly how much I hate straight teleheath. Specific to Betterhelp, the pay was extremely poor and the fact that they make money regardless of patient showing up and I only get paid if patient shows up and it’s by the minute up to 45 and nothing thereafter. Pay scale was higher the more hours you worked which was odd. Basically, I worked a couple days a week for about 10 to 15 hours and I got paid for about 80% of that time and made about 450 a week. if I worked at it full time, probably would have made twice that and maybe a little more because of the scale, but there is no way I could personally do tele-heath full time. Good thing about it is that it motivated me to get my business up and running more quickly. Pay structure is much much better for that!

 

[Sanman]

I learned pretty quickly how much I hate straight teleheath. Specific to Betterhelp, the pay was extremely poor and the fact that they make money regardless of patient showing up and I only get paid if patient shows up and it’s by the minute up to 45 and nothing thereafter. Pay scale was higher the more hours you worked which was odd. Basically, I worked a couple days a week for about 10 to 15 hours and I got paid for about 80% of that time and made about 450 a week. if I worked at it full time, probably would have made twice that and maybe a little more because of the scale, but there is no way I could personally do tele-heath full time. Good thing about it is that it motivated me to get my business up and running more quickly. Pay structure is much much better for that!

The thing about them is they had moment and it is gone. With the advent of HIPAA compliant telehealth platforms and, for psychologists, Psypact why make no money if you want to run a telehealth practice. The complaints about their model are likely true of any of the corporate run large practices that rip you off outside of the data sharing piece.

 

[Ollie123]

I imagine BetterHelp is where many of the horror stories of therapists doing sessions in their car, while taking care of their kids, etc. come from. I imagine anyone properly qualified as a therapist has better options.

Not remotely surprised RE: data sharing. Actually would have been surprised if they weren't doing that. A little surprised the punishment was that small. There are utterly ridiculous hoops put in place that actively harm and frustrate patients and providers in the name of "HIPAA-compliance" and this company gets a wrist slap for doing literally the opposite of that.

You'd think maybe it would be okay for your doctor to leave detailed voicemails with your test results if you tell them it's okay, rather than make everyone play phone tag with a nurse for 6 hours only to have them read numbers they don't understand to you and then be utterly unable to answer any questions. Not that I've had this experience. Repeatedly.

 

[quickpsych]

I learned pretty quickly how much I hate straight teleheath. Specific to Betterhelp, the pay was extremely poor and the fact that they make money regardless of patient showing up and I only get paid if patient shows up and it’s by the minute up to 45 and nothing thereafter. Pay scale was higher the more hours you worked which was odd. Basically, I worked a couple days a week for about 10 to 15 hours and I got paid for about 80% of that time and made about 450 a week. if I worked at it full time, probably would have made twice that and maybe a little more because of the scale, but there is no way I could personally do tele-heath full time. Good thing about it is that it motivated me to get my business up and running more quickly. Pay structure is much much better for that!

Thank you for sharing this. This needs to be seen by more people.

 

[WisNeuro]

Thank you for sharing this. This needs to be seen by more people.

Most people just need to run the numbers. 450 is essentially half to 3/4 of what one could make from medicare for a single dementia eval. The biggest issue is that these things are not mysticism, these figures are freely accessible. Any provider can run the Medicare numbers and estimate their earning floor.