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Google makes health service publicly available

Troll
19 May 2008 - 21:35
21 Comments
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Google Inc. is now offering the general public electronic access to their medical records and other health-related information.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based Web search leader announced the public launch of Google Health during a Webcast on Monday. It lets users import records from a variety of care providers and pharmacies.

Google tested the service by storing medical records for a few thousand patient volunteers at the not-for-profit Cleveland Clinic.

"It's a really exciting day for us. We're really happy to be able to offer this service to all our users," Marissa Mayer, the Google executive overseeing the health project, said in the Webcast.

Link: Google Health

Comments (21)

  1. Majesticmerc - 19 May 2008 - 22:14

    And down we trek the dark road. Why would anyone want the worlds biggest web company to hold their medical details?

    "Gmail. Now with Targetted V1ag|2a Spam - Because sometimes you just need the pills to pull"

  2. rpgfan - 19 May 2008 - 22:47

    (El Sid said @ #1)
    And down we trek the dark road. Why would anyone want the worlds biggest web company to hold their medical details?

    "Gmail. Now with Targetted V1ag|2a Spam - Because sometimes you just need the pills to pull"


    LOL This is one Google service that isn't quite right... I don't mind things like OpenID for sites knowing who I am, but giving Google access to my records and making them available online isn't something I'm a fan of, whether I designate the "entities and individuals" or not...

    I'm hoping this one will flop. One plus - they make you click a checkbox to agree to their TOS and to authorize your consent to share things. :suspicious:

  3. Tikitiki - 19 May 2008 - 23:22

    (El Sid said @ #1)
    And down we trek the dark road. Why would anyone want the worlds biggest web company to hold their medical details?

    Yeh, lets give it to some small company that no one has ever heard of.

  4. Majesticmerc - 20 May 2008 - 07:23

    (Tikitiki said @ #1.2)

    Yeh, lets give it to some small company that no one has ever heard of.

    That's not the point, the fact of the matter is that your medical details are available online, which puts you at risk of phishing.

  5. frbubba - 19 May 2008 - 22:49

    Personally, I would not want them having my medical records. Not that there is anything interesting in them anyway, but the very idea of them being out there. I suppose if one had a medical condition which was life threatening, the advantage could be that medical doctors could get access to your records immediately through Google, if that is what they have in mind.

  6. hagjohn - 19 May 2008 - 23:12

    Not a good idea. We, the people, need to have more rights when it comes to our personal info.

  7. billyea - 19 May 2008 - 23:27

    You do, you have the right not to participate.

  8. Airlink - 19 May 2008 - 23:36

    Why would anyone in their right mind want their medical records to be on the internet?

  9. PermaSt0ne - 20 May 2008 - 00:09

    so maybe one day you can visit any hospital on the world, have google not only transmit your records but automatically translate it to the correct language at the same time, thus allowing you to receive the correct treatment

    and it's not out on the internet, it's on googles servers. quite a big difference there

  10. elvenseven - 20 May 2008 - 04:52

    (PermaSt0ne said @ #4.1)
    so maybe one day you can visit any hospital on the world, have google not only transmit your records but automatically translate it to the correct language at the same time, thus allowing you to receive the correct treatment

    and it's not out on the internet, it's on googles servers. quite a big difference there :rolleyes:

    That does not sound like a good reason.

  11. trip21 - 20 May 2008 - 06:27

    (Airlink said @ #4)
    Why would anyone in their right mind want their medical records to be on the internet?

    There are many good reasons. Having Google possess the records is not one of them!

  12. +mrbester - 20 May 2008 - 09:30

    (PermaSt0ne said @ #4.1)
    so maybe one day you can visit any hospital on the world, have google not only transmit your records but automatically translate it to the correct language at the same time, thus allowing you to receive the correct treatment

    and it's not out on the internet, it's on googles servers. quite a big difference there

    If it isn't part of a VPN then it's on the internet, regardless of whose servers it is on.

    If you're "visiting" a hospital, you'd be doing so voluntarily (and probably with an appointment) so that reason is bogus; it's a solution looking for a problem. If you're involved in an accident then having your records online makes no difference; emergency teams do not wait for patient records from wherever, they treat life-threatening incidents immediately. Should you have an existing pre-condition, like a bad reaction to penicillin, then you'd most likely already have a medical bracelet (internationally recognised) or similar detailing it. Again, no reason to have online records.

  13. Mike Chipshop - 19 May 2008 - 23:56

    Then don't participate... simple as

  14. Mike Frett - 20 May 2008 - 04:01

    I'm participating, if that comforts some of you. I figure I might actually have a use for this given my fragile body.

  15. dysmatik - 20 May 2008 - 04:28

    Sounds way too risky to me. No thanks.

  16. UltimatePochii - 20 May 2008 - 06:34

    My life in Google's hands? no way

  17. tsutton - 20 May 2008 - 08:42

    Soon, we'll see Google ads appearing...

    "I see you have small penis - we offer penis extender"

  18. Lare2 - 20 May 2008 - 15:50

    For some reason i think Insurance Companies are behind all this. Isn't MS doing something similar.

  19. C_Guy - 20 May 2008 - 17:32

    Medical records are just the tip of the iceberg for Google. Soon they will know you better than you know yourself.

    How they fooled anyone with their "do no evil" crap is beyond me.

  20. +Lexcyn - 20 May 2008 - 18:54

    I would do this - except I have no way of importing my medical records, since I'm not sure how to go about obtaining mine. We don't really have a central medical record database here in Ontario anyways, so it would be quite hard for me to get anything.

    That being said, I love the drug interactions section.

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