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Google Lets Patients Share Health Records

Posted on: Friday, 6 March 2009, 09:20 CST

Google is responding to feedback it has received since launching its medical records service last May, deciding to allow patients to selectively share electronic medical records with loved ones or care givers who may be needed to assist in emergencies.

“We're listening to feedback from users every day about their needs, and one issue we hear regularly is that people want help coordinating their care and the care of loved ones. They want the ability to share their medical records and personal health information with trusted family members, friends, and doctors in their care network. I can relate to this,” wrote Sameer Samat, Google’s Director of Product Management, in a message posted on the company’s Web site.

Google’s free medical records service enables people to have electronic copies of information such as lab test results, prescriptions, hospital stays and medical conditions stored on Google’s computers.  Users can also link heart monitors to Google Health so vital health measurements can be fed to the company’s online heart attack assessment services. The service also comes with a "virtual pillbox" that will automatically send alerts to a user’s mobile telephone, reminding them when it is time to take their medications.

The service, which links to pharmacies, clinics and diagnostic labs, now includes a "share this profile" feature, which allows  selected people to view, but not change, a user’s online medical records.

"A few years ago, my father suffered a minor heart attack and was sent to the emergency room," Samat wrote.

"I arrived on the scene in a panic, and was asked what medications he was taking. I had no clue. If my father had a Google Health account, and had shared his profile with me, I would have been up-to-date on his current medications."

The company says renewable links to patients’ records are uniquely customized to each recipient and expire automatically after 30 days.

"You can stop sharing at any time, and you can always see who has access to your information," Samat wrote.

"Those who are viewing your profile can only see the profile you share, not any other one in your account."

Google is not alone in launching an online health records service.  Microsoft unveiled its HealthVault online medical records storage and management service in October 2007.

However, privacy advocates are concerned that online medical information is particularly vulnerable to spying or tampering, possibly by employers or insurance companies, in order to reduce liabilities by turning away those with health issues.

But Google says its health records services reside on a secure computer platform apart from its search system as part of the company’s emphasis on protecting such health information.

Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search product and user experience, said the health records service was created with "our highest level of security."

President Barack Obama has praised electronic health records.  Many analysts believe such online records appeal strongly to members of the baby boom generation.

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On the Net:

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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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