Google has published the landing page for a new service, Google Health. Even folks with Google accounts can’t log in yet, but the landing page summarizes the site’s initial offerings:
With Google Health, you can:
* Build online health profiles that belong to you
* Download medical records from doctors and pharmacies
* Get personalized health guidance and relevant news
* Find qualified doctors and connect to time-saving services
* Share selected information with family or caregivers
Want more details? Marissa Mayer, Google’s head of search, outlined its workings at a conference last year.
I can understand why some people would be nervous about putting all that medical data online, but a central repository for personal health information could be incredibly valuable.
Any doctor who sees you should be able to review ALL OF YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS SINCE BIRTH, but most of them can hardly be bothered to keep track of your history with them. None of them get all your records from every other doctor you’ve seen.
Folks who aggregated their own data on a site like Google Health could at least present a comprehensive records to every doctor they visit. Plus, assuming Google finds ways to organize that data well, the site will be far easier for your doctor to scan and comprehend that years of barely legible notes scribbled on papers at medical offices.
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