Google Stores Medical Records Online

By Greg McNevin

May 30, 2008: Google has expanded its empire into yet another area, launching a beta version of its Google Health, a new site that lets users upload and manage all of their health records in one, always accessible place.

The system works by enabling patients to import their medical records (provided their healthcare provider is participating in the program), review them, and share them at will.

“How many of us have touched, or even seen, our medical records?” wrote Marissa Mayer, the Google vice president, Search Products & User Experience, in a post on the company’s blog.

“In this day and age of information, isn't it crazy that you don't have a copy of your medical records under your control? You could use those records to develop a better understanding of your health and ultimately get better care. It's your data about your own health; why shouldn't you own and control it?”

Easy access to health records is a fantastic plus for any patient, however, privacy concerns are the first thing that leaps to mind with the possibility of storing personal and often highly sensitive information online.

Google has moved quickly to quell these concerns saying that it has “strong policies” to keep information secure, and that users can control who has access, or delete all of their information at any time if desired.

The company says that it will not disclose user information unless there are special circumstances (such as when Google is required by law to do so), and the aggregate data that it does use will be used purely to “improve” the system and be anonymised within a fortnight.

Apart from centralisation and always-on availability no matter where a patient is or what doctor they see, the benefits of the new system are many, including the ability for healthcare professionals to review a patients entire history and visits with other doctors. This will enable perhaps not only more accurate diognosis, but also will enable the doctor to avoid prescribing medications that may clash with other prescribed drugs a patient may have neglected to mention they are taking.

Currently the service is only available to US residents, however, with the service so far proving highly popular, one the beta gives way to the full version it shouldn’t be long until it is rolled out around the world.

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