FOCUS Privacy and Security Background

 

Application Overview

The FOCUS mobile application (app) allows users to track symptoms and receive targeted interventions based on responses to daily assessments. FOCUS was designed based on recommendations for digital resources for people with serious mental illness and with feedback from people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. Users can select domains to focus on including medication adherence, mood regulation, sleep, social functioning, and coping with auditory hallucinations. Users are prompted once a day to complete an assessment of target domains and receive targeted text interventions based on responses. Users can also initiate interventions from any domain without completing an assessment.

 

Types of Data Collected

All participant information collected by the system is de-identified. No personal identifiers are collected by the mobile application or transferred to the clinician dashboard. Date and time along with selected responses to questions within the mobile application are transmitted to the clinician dashboard. Response options are pre-defined within the application and no free-form text input is collected from the participant.

 

Data collected is stored in the US.

 

Privacy and Security Controls

Privacy and security controls have been established appropriate to the data classification level of the system. Both technical and process controls have been established and include but are not limited to the following:

● Data is encrypted in transit

● Data is encrypted at rest

● Backup processes are defined for the clinician dashboard

● Updates and security patches for the mobile application and clinician dashboard are performed regularly

● Vendor organizational policies and procedures based on industry standards, including vetting and training of staff, access controls and incident reporting procedures are in place

● Vendor agreements related to the protection of data are in place