Google Health and its Cleveland testbed

February 22, 2008 | David P. Hamilton | Comments |

The impending — or so it’s seemed — launch of Google Health has spurred any number of comparisons, invidious and otherwise, to Microsoft’s flashier but ultimately disappointing launch of HealthVault last October.

Now that Google has finally announced its first big health project with the Cleveland Clinic, though, it’s far from clear exactly how its platform is going to address nagging privacy issues and the fundamental question of how much control patients will have over their records. We unpack the Google Health announcement over at VentureBeat Life Sciences.

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About the Author, David P. Hamilton

David Hamilton has been writing for VentureBeat LifeScience since April 2007. He formerly spent 14 years as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in its San Francisco and Tokyo bureaus. Prior to that, he spent several years as a reporter at Science Magazine and as a reporter/researcher for the New Republic, both in Washington.

  • RK
    Well, Google's (personal Health Record) PHR Privacy is not covered as part of federal HIPAA regulation, They can start data mining at there will, probably tie up 23 & Me and sell not only your health record but DNA info as well. Just imagine these guys wanting to become an unregulated similar to credit rating agency such as Experian, Transunion etc.. of your health info. Do you trust these credit agencies today!! who happen to be regulated at some level. Just imagine what will Google do with unregulated medical info on you! Smells Fishy!
  • People is really sensible to the confidentiality of their medical data. It is critical information.

    The danger with Google Health and HealthVault is that somebody in the future crack their security systems.

    Also the fact about a private company getting data about your health must concern us.

    There is an alternative, http://www.keyose.com/, designed by physicians, its philosophy is based on total anonymous users. A smart mechanism allows the store of clinical record without asking you any personal data (not even your email).

    Confidentiality is in such a way assured.
  • Christoph Möller
    see the posts of Adam Bosworth, former Vice President of Product Management at Google

    - Health care information matters
    http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/health-c...

    - Putting health into the patient's hands
    http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/putting-...

    Wikipedia:

    "Until recently, Bosworth was heading a Google division known as Google Health, and recent reports suggest that he was operating under the title of "Architect" of the project at the present time. The announcement of the project, currently in its infancy, follows the discovery that 12% of individuals would consult Google prior to seeing a doctor, as well as the suggestion made by Dean Giustini in a British Medical Journal editorial that one of the natural next steps for Google would be some kind of medical database for personal use."
  • ... and watch out for "Keas", the new startup from Adam Bosworth


    Adam Bosworth’s Weblog
    http://adambosworth.net/2007/12/22/talking-abou...

    "Today no one helps you. You can’t assemble your health data to get the best care possible. Even if you can, your doctors rarely help because the system doesn’t pay them to keep you healthy. You don’t have tools that work online to help in these situations, partly because insurance doesn’t pay for them. Because of these problems people suffer both personal hardship and fear and economic deprivation, sometimes irreversibly. What is more we all pay enormous medical costs for this, and there are costs to society and to the competitiveness of our companies in lost productivity. It is our mission at Keas to fix this for you. Keas will help you."
  • David P. Hamilton
    Thanks for mentioning Keas -- I'd seen that blog entry, but subsequently forgot all about it. If anyone has suggestions for other alternatives to HealthVault and Google Health, feel free to sound off about them here or email me: david at venturebeat.com.

    Also, RK, if you read the full post at VBLS, you'll see I delve into the HIPAA issue there.