TimmyHWould you put your Medical Data Online?
July 7th 2008 05:39
Getting your medical data online might seem like a bit of a risk, but the trend is rapidly becoming popular. Google and Microsoft are attempting to do the same thing for personal health software that Quicken has done for personal finance. Microsoft’s HealthVault whish has been running for about 9 months and Google Health which went online in May all consumers to store and access all their personal medical data.
Users will be able to simultaneously gather historical and medical information from GP’s, hospitals and specialists and share it with medical providers. The prevision should make it easier to co-ordinate care for patients with complicated conditions and spot potential treatment problems. Both services will allow links to third-parties which input information like blood pressure or readings of all sorts into the database.
Because many doctors still do not use electronic records, a lot of patient information can be hard to ascertain. In 2007, only about 2% of people were using home computers or the Internet to keep electronic medical records. But the expected rise in the use of Google Health and HealthVault could facilitate an increase in the use of digital medical records worldwide.
Those patients that do have electronic access to their medical records generally have to use portals maintained by physicians and the health-care system. In most cases, patients do not control their own information. This is where applications like Google Health and HealthVault have changed the way medical information is accessed.
With both applications, users will have fundamental ownership of their medical data. As more and more health care providers begin using digital formats to store patient records, the system will become easier for users to manage on their own. Emergency rooms might even have instant access to medical histories to allow for faster and more accurate diagnoses.
Medical services in the US are already allowing some patients to import records and data into their digital medical files. Users will essentially be able to build a medical history profile of past and current illnesses and treatments to assist medical professionals. Somewhat more controversial is the use of Google Health and other medical sites for the purposes of self-diagnosis which is a difficult concept for physicians to accept.
Because they are not run by any particular nation’s government health department, Google Health and HealthVault have no legislative restrictions on what they do with your personal medical details. They do offer a a categorical promise not to release any personal information without it first being cleared by its owner, “We make a very clear promise to consumers about what we will and won't do with their data, and we're happy to be accountable for those claims,” says Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft.
Privacy experts say there is potential for sensitive personal data to be leaked out through Google Health and HealthVault applications to drug companies and other corporate interests. The Microsoft and Google applications could quite easily be absorbed under privacy laws to ensure user privacy. But any potential slips would have far greater implications than the release of financial details for example. Google and Microsoft promise at the moment to put users in control of their medical information, but while there is no legislative protection for consumers, it would take a lot of trust to allow them access to your entire medical history.
Users will be able to simultaneously gather historical and medical information from GP’s, hospitals and specialists and share it with medical providers. The prevision should make it easier to co-ordinate care for patients with complicated conditions and spot potential treatment problems. Both services will allow links to third-parties which input information like blood pressure or readings of all sorts into the database.
Because many doctors still do not use electronic records, a lot of patient information can be hard to ascertain. In 2007, only about 2% of people were using home computers or the Internet to keep electronic medical records. But the expected rise in the use of Google Health and HealthVault could facilitate an increase in the use of digital medical records worldwide.
Those patients that do have electronic access to their medical records generally have to use portals maintained by physicians and the health-care system. In most cases, patients do not control their own information. This is where applications like Google Health and HealthVault have changed the way medical information is accessed.
With both applications, users will have fundamental ownership of their medical data. As more and more health care providers begin using digital formats to store patient records, the system will become easier for users to manage on their own. Emergency rooms might even have instant access to medical histories to allow for faster and more accurate diagnoses.
Medical services in the US are already allowing some patients to import records and data into their digital medical files. Users will essentially be able to build a medical history profile of past and current illnesses and treatments to assist medical professionals. Somewhat more controversial is the use of Google Health and other medical sites for the purposes of self-diagnosis which is a difficult concept for physicians to accept.
Because they are not run by any particular nation’s government health department, Google Health and HealthVault have no legislative restrictions on what they do with your personal medical details. They do offer a a categorical promise not to release any personal information without it first being cleared by its owner, “We make a very clear promise to consumers about what we will and won't do with their data, and we're happy to be accountable for those claims,” says Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft.
Privacy experts say there is potential for sensitive personal data to be leaked out through Google Health and HealthVault applications to drug companies and other corporate interests. The Microsoft and Google applications could quite easily be absorbed under privacy laws to ensure user privacy. But any potential slips would have far greater implications than the release of financial details for example. Google and Microsoft promise at the moment to put users in control of their medical information, but while there is no legislative protection for consumers, it would take a lot of trust to allow them access to your entire medical history.
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