6 ms·

Thank you for participating! Co-founder and CSO here. Thanks for the feedback regarding the website, we're in the process of updating the page to improve its la

Thank you for participating! Co-founder and CSO here. Thanks for the feedback regarding the website, we're in the process of updating the page to improve its layout. We absolutely will not be selling your microbiome data without your consent, and it's something the team and I are quite adamant about. We also will NOT be selling or using any of your personal genetic data without consent. Any analysis and discovery will be on completely de-identified data, and will go toward our goal of improving health care. Thank you for supporting us, and we hope that the insights we provide in the early access may be valuable to you!

dannygrannick 6y ago
Regarding the "about" page - our website is brand new and we're building out more information to coincide with announcements over the coming weeks. One of those is around our advisory board and another is relevant to your comment on clinical trials. Our team has backgrounds in genomics on both the research and commercial side! I worked at Illumina and ONT myself - other co-founders come from companies including Genentech, Twist, etc.
greyface- 6y ago
> We absolutely will not be selling your microbiome data without your consent, and it's something the team and I are quite adamant about. Are we relying on your word on this? I have had startups change their mind on me on these sorts of things in the past. I would want some sort of assurance that my data remains private even if you change your mind and wish to make it non-private.
- dannygrannick 6y ago
  We follow all HIPAA requirements and de-identify our data accordingly. That said, as a company we are committed to patient privacy and I’m interested in hearing about the experiences you’ve had in the past with companies changing their minds. If you’re open to it, email us at info@bristlehealth.com and I’ll follow up with you to discuss!
- rapjr9 6y ago
  What happens if the company goes bankrupt and someone else buys the IP including the data? Can they do whatever they want with the data? Without some enforceable legal restrictions here the data seems to be at risk.
29athrowaway 6y ago
Is customer data protected by HIPAA?
- dannygrannick 6y ago
  Yes! We are 100% HIPAA compliant
  - astura 6y ago
    You didn't answer the question asked, you answered a different question. The question that was asked was if the customer data you collect is "protected by HIPAA," not if you choose to be "HIPAA compliment." In other words - does the law (HIPAA) require you to handle customer data a certain way? Are you a "covered entity" under HIPAA? I don't know much about your business, but I'm going to presume you are NOT a covered entry and HIPAA does NOT apply. I'm going to presume that because HIPAA is not a generic medical privacy law (even though people think it is), it applies to only "covered entities," which are - "Health Care Providers[1]", "Health Plans", and "Health Care Clearinghouses." You don't appear to be any of those, nobody claims to be providing any medical services, and you even provide a disclaimer that you are not providing medical services. - aka "just for funsies." A useful rule of thumb is the "I" in HIPAA stands for insurance - if insurance is NOT involved HIPAA probably doesn't apply. So I think your statement "Yes, we are 100% HIPAA compliment" was intentionally misleading. [1] but only if they transmit information electronically in connection with a transaction for which HHS has adopted a standard
    - Cro_on 6y ago
      Unless the question was answered in the first sentence ('Yes!' being one of the few single word sentences possible in English). In this perspective, the second sentence gives extra information instead of 'intentionally misleading'.
      - astura 6y ago
        Then they need to provide additional information as to why they are considered a "covered entity" under HIPAA, because it is NOT obvious from their website why HIPPA would apply and the answer I was replying to appeared to be very mealy-mouthed based on the information given. If they have additional information they'd like to share, I'd very much like to hear it.

dannygrannick 6y ago

Regarding the "about" page - our website is brand new and we're building out more information to coincide with announcements over the coming weeks. One of those is around our advisory board and another is relevant to your comment on clinical trials. Our team has backgrounds in genomics on both the research and commercial side! I worked at Illumina and ONT myself - other co-founders come from companies including Genentech, Twist, etc.

greyface- 6y ago

> We absolutely will not be selling your microbiome data without your consent, and it's something the team and I are quite adamant about. Are we relying on your word on this? I have had startups change their mind on me on these sorts of things in the past. I would want some sort of assurance that my data remains private even if you change your mind and wish to make it non-private.

dannygrannick 6y ago
We follow all HIPAA requirements and de-identify our data accordingly. That said, as a company we are committed to patient privacy and I’m interested in hearing about the experiences you’ve had in the past with companies changing their minds. If you’re open to it, email us at info@bristlehealth.com and I’ll follow up with you to discuss!
rapjr9 6y ago
What happens if the company goes bankrupt and someone else buys the IP including the data? Can they do whatever they want with the data? Without some enforceable legal restrictions here the data seems to be at risk.

29athrowaway 6y ago

Is customer data protected by HIPAA?

dannygrannick 6y ago
Yes! We are 100% HIPAA compliant
- astura 6y ago
  You didn't answer the question asked, you answered a different question. The question that was asked was if the customer data you collect is "protected by HIPAA," not if you choose to be "HIPAA compliment." In other words - does the law (HIPAA) require you to handle customer data a certain way? Are you a "covered entity" under HIPAA? I don't know much about your business, but I'm going to presume you are NOT a covered entry and HIPAA does NOT apply. I'm going to presume that because HIPAA is not a generic medical privacy law (even though people think it is), it applies to only "covered entities," which are - "Health Care Providers[1]", "Health Plans", and "Health Care Clearinghouses." You don't appear to be any of those, nobody claims to be providing any medical services, and you even provide a disclaimer that you are not providing medical services. - aka "just for funsies." A useful rule of thumb is the "I" in HIPAA stands for insurance - if insurance is NOT involved HIPAA probably doesn't apply. So I think your statement "Yes, we are 100% HIPAA compliment" was intentionally misleading. [1] but only if they transmit information electronically in connection with a transaction for which HHS has adopted a standard
  - Cro_on 6y ago
    Unless the question was answered in the first sentence ('Yes!' being one of the few single word sentences possible in English). In this perspective, the second sentence gives extra information instead of 'intentionally misleading'.
    - astura 6y ago
      Then they need to provide additional information as to why they are considered a "covered entity" under HIPAA, because it is NOT obvious from their website why HIPPA would apply and the answer I was replying to appeared to be very mealy-mouthed based on the information given. If they have additional information they'd like to share, I'd very much like to hear it.