Skip to main content

Health Data Ownership

Meaning

Health Data Ownership is a complex legal and ethical concept defining the rights and control an individual has over their personal health information, including medical records, genomic sequences, and biometric data collected from wearable devices. While patients are widely considered the subject of the data and possess rights to access and control its use, legal ownership often technically resides with the healthcare provider or institution that collected and curates the record. This concept addresses the fundamental dilemma of balancing patient privacy and autonomy with the immense public health value of large-scale, anonymized data for research and clinical advancement.