On Friday, Jezebel reported that Republican U.S. Senate Nominee and New Jersey resident Mehmet Oz co-founded and made millions of dollars off a for-profit digital health company “whose app could potentially be used to track abortion patients.” The app seeks to manage a user’s consumption of birth control, the morning after pill, and other medications.
During Oz’s affiliation with the company, there were multiple date breaches that leaked the sensitive data of almost 27,000 users, and several lawsuits alleging the sale of user information.
Oz is anti-abortion — celebrating the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — and has made millions profiting off of untrustworthy healthcare companies. His business ventures have put people’s data at risk, and this sensitive information may be used to track and punish abortion patients.
Jezebel: Don’t Trust Dr. Oz-Founded Medical App With Your Reproductive Healthcare Data
By Caitlin Cruz | July 22, 2022
Key Points:
- “Dr. Mehmet Oz—a New Jersey resident running for Senate in Pennsylvania—is the co-founder of a digital health company whose app could potentially be used to track abortion patients.”
- “In the past few years, the company, whose app lets customers ask health-related questions from organizations like AARP or the American Heart Association, has faced a data breach and a number of legal complaints, including an allegation of selling customers’ phone numbers. […] Considering Oz’s former company has access to data that could potentially track abortion seekers, it’s critical to examine the anti-abortion doctor’s business past.”
- “Reproductive healthcare is one area patients can add sensitive data through Sharecare’s desktop and mobile tools. When you log into the dashboard, a number of typical, yet troubling, health categories pop up. First is medication, with a spot to add birth control and keep track of whether or not you’ve taken it. Sharecare also lets you add medications like levonorgestrel (the morning after pill), mifepristone, or misoprostol, which the company says is intended to help a patient make sure they’ve taken their meds. Sharecare’s apparatus leaves digital traces of your reproductive health care, making it yet another system that potentially puts patients at risk.”
Read the full report here.
Published: Jul 25, 2022 | Last Modified: Aug 28, 2022