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Google to Offer Online Personal Health Records
Posted by
samzenpus
on Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:22 PM
from the google-your-liver-profile dept.
from the google-your-liver-profile dept.
hhavensteincw writes "Less than two weeks after Microsoft announced plans to offer personal health records, Google announced today that it plans to offer online personal health records to help patients tote and store their own x-rays and other health data. Google made the announcement Wednesday at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco."
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Science: Google to Begin Storing Patients' Health Records 214 comments
mytrip writes with news that Google's health record archive is about to be tested with the assistance of the Cleveland Clinic. Thousands of patients (who must approve the transfer of information) will have access to everything from their medical histories to lab results through what Google considers a "logical extension" of their search engine. We discussed the planning of this system last year.
"Each health profile, including information about prescriptions, allergies and medical histories, will be protected by a password that's also required to use other Google services such as e-mail and personalized search tools. The health venture also will provide more fodder for privacy watchdogs who believe Google already knows too much about the interests and habits of its users as its computers log their search requests and store their e-mail discussions. Prodded by the criticism, Google last year introduced a new system that purges people's search records after 18 months. In a show of its privacy commitment, Google also successfully rebuffed the U.S. Justice Department's demand to examine millions of its users' search requests in a court battle two years ago."
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Google Health Opens To the Public 199 comments
Several readers noted that the limited pilot test of Google Health has ended, and Google is now offering the service to the public at large. Google Health allows patients to enter health information, such as conditions and prescriptions, find related medical information, and share information with their health care providers (at the patient's request). Information may be entered manually or imported from partnered health care providers. The service is offered free of charge, and Google won't be including advertising. The WSJ and the NYTimes provide details about Google's numerous health partners.
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Translation (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Translation (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Translation (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thevoyagers/518750492/ [flickr.com]
Re:Translation (Score:5, Funny)
You don't need to track your wife...
she's at my place.
Parent
Re:Translation (Score:5, Funny)
You don't need to track your wife... she's at my place.
I know. Gives me more time to spend with my girlfriends.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Translation (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Where+are+my+keys%3F&btnG=Google+Search [google.com]
returns:
Results 1 - 10 of about 509,000,000 for Where are my keys?
Are you really telling me there are 509,000,000 places they can be? Sounds like you will be searching for a while there...
The writing's on the wall (Score:3, Insightful)
"Free" is far, far too expensive of a price to pay for any of Google's "services", as neat as they may be.
http://www.scroogle.org/ [scroogle.org] (they even have a https Firefox plugin and an IE agent available) is a good
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, uh, yes. They're a search company. Collecting information on everything and anything is what they do.
it really makes you question their ultimate goals and wonder about how such a young company got so much funding so quickly to become the monolith they are
Well yes, they must obviously be a branch of the CIA/Haliburton! If not them, then the Illuminati/Freemason coalition must be responsible for Google's l
Re:The writing's on the wall (Score:4, Insightful)
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Google mission statement (Score:4, Insightful)
It's hardly surprising then, or nefarious, that Google's product announcements tend to focus on information gathering and management rather than, say, toasters.
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AltaVista (Score:3, Informative)
Really, does anyone remember how the speed difference felt at the time? Google was the first major search engine I saw printing the search execution time on the results page, and
Gee, I wonder (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Translation (Score:5, Interesting)
The operative word here is "let". It's not like they are indexing publicly available records and placing them out there in one easy to locate spot for everyone to see. People choose to use GMail, have their conversations logged in GTalk, catalog their daily schedules and sync their work calendaring to GCalendar, and search for ways to kill their lovers in the most secretive ways on Vanilla Google.
If someone wants to offer up their personal privacy to a company, so be it. While I'm not telling you to stop your personal crusade to educate the retarded general public, I'm just telling you that it's better than what other companies are probably doing behind closed doors. I guarantee that Google, even in its infinitely undetermined future evil ways will be less so than 99% of the rest of the companies out there.
I really hope that I don't get proven wrong
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Re: (Score:2)
They would if there were any such records. And it'd only bother them when you put in "Eric Schmidt medical records". Then they'd throw a bit of a tantrum and not talk to you for a year.
So what is your guarantee worth? Seriously. Because
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm only part serious, of course (although that is what I do)... my point is to stop being smug about what you're doing, attitudes like that make life worse for everyone.
Data mining (Score:5, Insightful)
Epidemiological data mining. Google Earth overlays, with clusters of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, and E. coli infections near fast food restaurants. There might be clusters of radon-related lung cancer. There are some really nifty things you could find out by centralizing medical records. Alter or improve traffic patterns in neighborhoods where statistically more people are getting hit by cars.
I'm not advocating that we actually do all this, just pointing out some possibilities.
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Re:Data mining (Score:4, Funny)
Somehow, all I can think of is more targeted ads for Viagra instead.
Parent
We already pay the (US) government to do this (Score:3, Informative)
Do you know what you're paying? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Do you know what you're paying? (Score:4, Informative)
Seriously -- I was reading their statements at the time, and it was clear as day. They do automated analysis for targeting ads, but don't do any cross-correlation that would be a privacy breach in the sense that any other human being finds out something they shouldn't.
Parent
When has google ever abused your info? (Score:3, Insightful)
People cry constantly about Google having too much information. They have just as much information as everyone else. They are
awesome (Score:5, Insightful)
Bad News (Score:3, Funny)
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Just think... (Score:4, Funny)
old idea (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:old idea (Score:4, Insightful)
There are also packages specifically designed for indexing and sharing files. Will there be a DSpace filter supplied? Will Glimpse be able to search the metadata? Is any geographical data going to be in a format a GIS database can handle? (A person may wish to compare health information with where they were living at the time, for example. I'll assume for a moment that the data is confidential to the person concerned, at least in Europe where data privacy laws will be involved, and hopefully anonymous anywhere it's not confidential.)
Will data be correlatable or will each data chunk be in total isolation? Correlations might be interesting to people who suspect an undiagnosed underlying condition where multiple diagnosed symptoms exist and are treated, and might be a lot more convincing to doctors than patients who say "well, I don't think this really expensive treatment plan is working too well..."
It matters very little what people are saying they will code. Some things will prove intractable when the project specification is drawn up, when the developers try to implement it or when the managers run out of budget. Other things will evolve out of brainstorming sessions and wild drunken parties during the project. What actually ends up happening is rarely what is envisaged at the start, for all kinds of reasons. Sure, we can guess at what would be logical, but since when has a single project - Open Source, Closed Source or Hot Sauce - ever ended up being entirely - or even remotely - logical?
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Interesting... (Score:2)
Ob quote! (Score:5, Funny)
Doc: Do you always carry your medical record around with you?
Dalton: Saves time.
Now, if only we could have a story that I could relate the sex scene in the back room of the bar to. "But I'm on my break!"
Re: (Score:2)
It got to the point where I just ended up memorizing most of it and a fair chunk of my family med history. Freaked the heck out of one doc the first time I saw her and she asked me if I had any family histories of certain things and various questions about past medical history.
She just looked
Oh hell no. Give me a USB drive and encryption. (Score:5, Insightful)
The way I figure it is an encrypted USB drive and public key that I give my current provider.
I would also like to fire them (and their ability to have access to my records) at whim.
Unlike Clooney, I want *MY* data to be MINE. Not in the hands of others.
Google with my records? I don't think so.
Re:Oh hell no. Give me a USB drive and encryption. (Score:5, Insightful)
For future records, yes. If I treat you and subsequently you fire me, you have every right that I not be able to see records of your future medical care. However, any records of your care (or records you previously have had sent to me from other providers) not only should, but must (by law) be maintained by me and thus available to me.
Of course I might be willing to agree to remove your records from my office or record storage facility if: 1) it were no longer against the law, 2) there was no issue with FDA regulated drug abuse or diversion, and 3) by doing so you relinquish all rights in the future to sue me since your medical record is my entire documentation of my version of events should we have a disagreement in the future.
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Intresting point, whose records are they (Score:3, Interesting)
If I take a picture of you, it is a picture of YOU, but MY picture. The english language really fails here because you could also say it is your picture as in you are in the picture without actually owning said picture.
Medical records are of a person, but are created by another person reflecting that persons opinions about that other person. Who owns a record, the person who wrote it or who it is about? You can say that you want your records in your hands but you are quit right that this would remove from
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The question is, would it be prudent to impose a similar requiremen
Fun! (Score:2)
"Tote?" (Score:2)
What, are they going to put all the ones and zeros in little baggies or something?
Good on Google.. (Score:3, Funny)
Dear Google, dear Microsoft, (Score:4, Insightful)
What data? (Score:5, Informative)
For example, I've been lied to many times by patients regarding narcotic pain medicine prescriptions. For example, I treated someone this year to whom I gave an rx for 30 vicodins. I get a letter a month later from the State Controlled Substance guys (because one physician who rx'd to this patient requested a print out of the patient's controlled substance prescription records - which triggers a letter sent to everyone who rx'd him controlled medicines in the past.) So this guy had gotten the equivalent of 30 vicodins daily over a period of a few months (from many doctors, using different pharmacies, often getting two or three rxs in one day.) This means either he is in fulminant liver failure from all the tylenol or he's selling it for fun'n'profit.
So now, if he returns to my hospital (or any of the physicians or hospitals he shopped at) any provider who has not seen him before can pull his record their and see his real history. That's the benefit of a record that is out of the hands of the patient. Now that is meaningless for the 97% of people who are above-board. However the fact that the 3% exist do mean that any patient maintained record that providers can't add to independent of the patient's wishes will be taken with at least a bit of a grain of salt in some circumstances. Your old EKG or Chest Xray is not going to be suspect, but the report that you have only filled one rx for vicodin in the past 6 years and your 'documented allergy' to every pain medicine except for vicodin might be a bit suspect.
New Google ads (Score:4, Funny)
Gambler demographic: You seem to be having some broken kneecaps. Would you like to buy the book '12 easy tips on how to repay your 30% loans before the end of the week, guaranteed'?
Soccer mom demographic: You seem to be having a broken hipbone. Would you like to buy the book '12 easy excuses to tell your husband when your secret lover is too rough in bed'?
School nerd demographic: You seem to be having a broken finger. Would you like to buy the book '12 easy ways to teach your football team a lesson they'll remember for a long time'?
Protester demographic: You seem to be having a broken arm. Would you like to buy the book '12 easy ways to taunt the cops safely in any street march'?
Soldier demographic: You seem to be having a broken foot. Would you like to buy the book '12 easy ways to break doors in during house to house combat'?
The future by discovery (Score:3, Insightful)
In one of the episodes, some guy was pouring old urine in his own toilet, since the toilet was equipped with built-in analyzer. The analyzer would catch he had some beer yesterday, while the doctor told him his heath condition doesn't allow alcohol.
If the toilet detects he had beer, it'll go in his central medical record, his insurance company would see this, and he'd lose his medical insurance.
He later fell through a window after an accident, and the blood test went to the insurance company again, and he lost his insurance, remaining to be left dying, although this had nothing to do with his health condition prior to the accident.
EMRs Useless without Interoperability (Score:3, Insightful)
Every large medical center has EMRs to promote in-system efficiency and communication. Their EMRs are bought from different vendors, then woven into the center's overall I.T. fabric, including billing of patients, primary and secondary insurers, prescription writing and filling, and case management. If the medical center wanted to change EMR providers, good luck, without a costly conversion. And if he patient changes to another provider, again, the records stay, or possibly get printed to send to the new provider.
Everyone agrees EMRs are great for efficiency, accuracy, and completeness - but the promise of EMRs is only a pipe dream without standards and interoperability, not to mention iron-clad built-in privacy and security to ensure that private records stay private.
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Re:Decisions, decisions... (Score:5, Funny)
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