Google Wants Your Medical Records...And More?

by Jarrett Martineau | May 20, 2008 at 02:35 pm | 717 views | 6 comments

Let's think, for a moment, about the wealth of the world's information that Google already has stored and cached, and then let's think about where that might go in the very immediate future.

Google's got some pretty sophisticated world maps that can zoom right down to blurry faces of people walking at street level.

Google's also got an entire desktop software application to visualize the entire planet.

Google has a searchable catalogue of the world's books.

Google knows about businesses.

Google indexes patents. And products.

Google's got academic writing.

Google's got images. And more images.

Google's got pretty much every video ever made.

Google's got a pretty good handle on blogs.

Google knows every website on the internet.

Google's got your appointments.

Google's got your documents.

And Google's even got all of your perhaps not so private email.

But there's something missing. Google doesn't know enough. Google don't got it all.

But what does Google need? Google needs your medical records. Yes, of course they do. But trust them, they won't share your information unless you want them to.

And when it comes to finding a place to store your genetic code...you can thank Science that Google DNA is in Public Beta.

"Don't be evil", right?

The company has launched in the US a beta test of its Google Health service for archiving medical records and finding medical services

Google on Monday launched a beta test of its Google Health service for archiving medical records and finding medical services.

The site, which is currently available for healthcare purposes in the US only, is a personal portal that can be used to upload, store and view personal information; retrieve records from partners; investigate health matters; set alerts such as a reminder to take medication; and run applications that can, for example, keep track of how many miles a person has walked.

In some areas, Google's expansion beyond search takes on incumbent powers; Google Docs, for example, competes with Microsoft Office. But Google Health competes more with a tangled mess of regulatory and privacy complexity.

"Personal health records is an area that's just beginning," said Roni Zeiger, Google Health product manager. "The fact that only few people are using those tools means we [the computing and healthcare industries] haven't got it right yet."

Google has been talking about the health initiative for a year. "We [now] actually have the product," said Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience. "You can sign up today. It is open to the public."

The service will never sell a patient's information and will only share it with the patient's permission, Zeiger said. A user can revoke rights to share at any time.

"No Google Health user will ever find their Google Health information as search results anywhere on Google. That information is yours," Zeiger said.

To join, users must agree to various terms of use, including: "When you provide your information through Google Health, you give Google a licence to use and distribute it in connection with Google Health and other Google services."

Add a comment Comments (6)

cynthia yoo
good stuff:

Jarrett Martineau, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Jarrett Martineau


Incidentally, what if you could access the medical records and private data on these guys? Google as global crime deterrant? Google as the ultimate technology for complete global surveillance?

Spotted on Google Maps: a kid pointing a gun at a younger kid. (Okay, it's probably a toy gun.) What is it about Chicago? We've already seen a drug deal on the South Side and a girl flashing the camera in Homewood.

So what's with all the Chicago crimespotting? There's no street view for famously crime-ridden Baltimore yet, but what about Brooklyn or L.A.? Somebody please spot something outside of Chicago that's more shocking than a guy falling off a bike.

Michael Mayer
good stuff:

Jarrett Martineau, I like this story. It's good stuff.

jwbanks
good stuff:

Jarrett Martineau, I like this story. It's good stuff.

musica0911

Google send me a love letter last night=)

musica0911 has contributed a photo to this story.

Sri Yalavarthi

I was fortunate to hear great speakers letting their voices out from Google and for Google

Sri Yalavarthi has contributed a photo to this story.

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May 20, 2008 at 02:35 pm by Jarrett Martineau, 717 views, 6 comments

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cynthia yoo
First Flagged at 3:04 PM, May 20, 2008 by cynthia yoo
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