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FinanceGoogle Health Open to Public
Google released its new Health service to the general public today. Google Health, which has been in development for over a year and a half, gives users the ability to store and manage all of their health information in one central place for free. Monday marks the first day that the service is open to the general public after a limited pilot program recently ended
Here is a list of the features that Google Health provides:
- Build online health profiles – you can enter your health conditions, medications, allergies, and lab results into your Google Health profile and you can name the profile anything you want. You can even create multiple profiles for family members or others you care for.
- Import medical records from hospitals and pharmacies – choose from a list of Google Health partners to see if your hospital or pharmacy can send copies of your medical records or prescriptions to your Google Health profile. This way, you can save an accurate history of your medical conditions, medications, and test results all in one place.
- Learn about health issues and find helpful resources – Review trusted information on diseases and conditions and learn about possible medication interactions and other topics to talk your doctors about.
- Search for doctors and hospitals – You can search for a doctor’s name or location, find a doctor’s website, get directions to a doctor’s office, and save a doctor’s information to your medical contacts list.
- Connect to online health services – Browse the online health services directory to find services that are integrated with Google Health that can help you better manage your health needs.
According to the New York Times, over two dozen companies and institutions have announced a partnership with Google Health, including big names like Walgreens, CVS, the American Heart Association, Quest Diagnostics, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic.
Privacy is always the biggest concern when it comes to personal information –especially health records. According to the Times report, many people felt comfortable with a technology giant like Google storing the health information.
In the Cleveland trial, patients apparently did not shun the Google health records because of qualms that their personal health information might not be secure if held by a large technology company.
Google Health largely relies on users entering their own information at this point. The biggest barriers that Google faces early on is the adoption rate of other partners integrating with the service.
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