Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) Patient Access API

BCBSND is required to give you access to detailed information about your health history through a “Patient Access API.”  While you are a member, you can see this information by downloading an application (app) on your smartphone, tablet, computer or similar device. 

The information you can see through the Patient Access API includes details we collected about you since January 1, 2016, for certain types of health plans. This information includes:

  • Claims and “encounter” data, which means records about your visits and interactions with doctors and other health care providers.
  • Clinical data, which is information we collect when we help manage your care or provide services, such as care management or care coordination.

The information we share may include sensitive details, such as treatment for substance use disorders, mental health care, HIV status or other private health information.

It is important to know the app you choose will have access to all your health information. The app is not subject to HIPAA and other privacy laws that generally keep your health information safe. Instead, the app’s privacy policy will explain how it uses, shares or might sell your information.

If you want to use the Patient Access API, please read the privacy policy of any app you are thinking about using. Make sure you are comfortable with how the app will handle your information before you use it. 

Deleting the app from your device may not always stop it from getting your information. To stop sharing your data, you may need to remove the app’s access or permission through your device or account settings.

Things to think about when choosing an App:

  • Will this app sell my information for anyone?
  • Will this app share my information with other companies or people for things, such as research or advertising?
  • How will this app use my data?  Why does it need it?
  • Can I control how the app uses, shares, or sells my information?
  • If I want to stop using this app, or if I don’t want it to have my health information anymore, can I stop its access?  Is it easy or hard to do this?
  • What happens to my information if I stop the app’s access?  Do I need to do more than just delete the app from my device?
  • How will this app let me know it its privacy rules change?
  • Will the app collect other information from my device, such as my location?
  • How does the app keep my data safe?
  • Could sharing my data with this app affect other people, such as my family?
  • Can I see my information in the app and fix any mistakes or errors?  (Fixing mistakes in the app will not fix mistakes in the original source of the information.)
  • Does the app have a way for me to ask questions or make complaints?

If the app’s privacy policy does not answer these questions clearly, you may want to think twice before using it to access your health information. Your health information can be very private and  sensitive. It is important to choose an app that has strong privacy and security to protect your information.

Selecting an app and registering

To get started, you need to pick an app. Go to the Apple or Google Play stores to find an app you want to use.

After you pick an app, choose to connect your BCBSND data. If this is your first time connecting your data to an app, you will need to make a new account. This account is different from the one you use to log in to your online member account.

Each person on your BCBSND plan needs their own account to connect their data.

If you are a parent or guardian of a child under age 12, or if you have a  health care power of attorney or court-ordered guardianship, you may need to give more information before your request can be processed. Please call Customer Service for help.

Covered Entities and HIPAA Enforcement

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) makes sure that people and companies follow the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. BCBSND, along with most doctors, hospitals, clinics and dentists must follow HIPAA rules.

If you want to learn more about your rights  under HIPAA and who must follow these rules, visit: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/index.html. 

If you think someone broke HIPAA rules, you can file a complaint with the OCR. To learn how, visit: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html.  You can also file a complaint with BCBSND by calling Customer Service with the number on the back of your ID card.

Apps and Privacy Enforcement

Most apps are not subject to HIPAA. If an app has a privacy notice, it must follow what it says in that notice. But most apps do not have to follow other privacy laws. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act makes sure that apps do not lie about how they use your information.  If an app breaks its own privacy notice, the FTC can take action. 

To learn more about how apps use your information, visit: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0018-understanding-mobile-apps.   

If you think an app used, shared, or sold your information in a way that it should not have, you can tell the FTC. You can file a complaint here: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/.